The 53rd Hunger Games
by sally134
Summary: Long before Katniss and Peeta the hunger games was taking tributes, training them and forcing them to kill each other. Who will you root for in these games? The orphan? The cripple? The thief? Let the games begin!
1. Chapter 1- The Tributes

District 1

Shimmer awoke feeling confident, the way she always felt, her toned body slid from between her silken bed sheets and her perfectly manicured fingers reached assuredly for the fresh orange juice she knew the maid would have left on her nightstand.

Today is reaping day. She told herself. That is a fact and nothing will change it, you should feel confident, you only have 5 entries and you know that the odds are entirely in your favour.

She repeated this mantra 50 times until she felt a reassuring glow of arrogance at being the mayor's daughter, the one who would never need the tesserae and who would reach 18 next year having grown even more beautiful, the world was truly hers.

"Today will be a wonderful day" Shimmer spoke the words out loud as if to ensure the universe knew it's job for the day ahead.

"Darling!" Her father's voice called through the door "Are you awake?"

"Coming! Don't worry, I'm never late for the show!" Shimmer called back to him in a bright, happy voice. The reapings were staggered throughout the day and district 1 would be the first at 9am, she would be sat on the stage with her parents so there was no way she could look anything less than perfect- as if she would ever go out in public looking any other way!

_Huf. Huf. Huf. Huf._ Andesine panted, he was on lap 40 of the running track which ran around the outside of the school building. _Huf. Huf. Huf. _He let out a long slow breath as he reached the school door for the final time.

Andesine looked up and saw his best friend Fabien; he smiled "What's up man? You done too?"

Fabien flicked his messy blonde hair out of his eyes "Yup, so come on is today the day?"

Andesine took a deep breath, he hadn't told anyone he would be volunteering this year but it was unsurprising that everyone had guessed, at 17 he was as tough as any of the 18 year olds he trained with and, whereas Fabien favoured a lean physique, Andesine had bulked himself up through weight training and a high protein diet. Well, no time like the present to make the announcement.

He nodded "Yup, I'm ready. Better to do it now when I know I'm at the peak of my game than wait another year, risk an injury and maybe not get my shot at all."

Fabien nodded; he was 16 and would probably wait until 18 like most people before he volunteered. "You're gonna be awesome man, I gotta get breakfast but I'll see you out there okay?"

"Okay. See you" Andesine headed to the gym shower room and grabbed his wash bag. He caught his reflection in the mirror. He tried to view himself as the other tributes would view him. Almost six feet tall, broad shoulders and muscle definition everywhere- he looked menacing.

Good. He thought.

District Two

Pain shot through Dacia's ribs as a shrill voice told her to get up. She stretched out as much as she could in her bunk and knocked out a tune on the bunk above. "I'm up, I'm up" was the response from the next occupant who then knocked on the bunk above her to wake another sound sleeper.

I'd kill for the top bunk. Thought Dacia. I could wake up to a knock instead of a kick. She stood and stretched a little when she heard crying. A new girl had been brought into the foster home last night and she wasn't taking it too well. The beds didn't help, they were triple bunks with no rails so the person on top had to be a still sleeper or they would get a painful awakening on the brushed stone floor. Once a girl fell out of bed in the night and broke her jaw. Maybe it was best to be bottom bunk; she barely noticed pain anymore anyway.

After chores and a mushy, grain breakfast, Dacia showered and dressed in the girls uniform of a grey woven dress, grey woollen knee socks and black shoes. As she dressed she saw that the bruise on the back of her thighs was finally fading to yellow, Dacia had been on potato peeling duty and had made the mistake of sitting down when she thought no one was looking. Mistress Elaine had given her 10 strikes with her cane but Dacia had borne it without crying, weakness would only earn you more strikes and make the ones you already had seem worse.

For a moment Dacia thought about reaping days before she had arrived at the home. Her parents would hug her close and tell her not to be afraid. That was before the accident at the Nut, her father had died in the rock fall and her mother had succumbed to flu the following year so now, at 14, Dacia lived her pale existence with the other lost girls in the foster home. "Ah well" she whispered "maybe I'll be reaped and it will all be over" In a way she found the thought comforting.

Flint was up at 5 as usual. He headed to the gym with his brothers and, as the eldest, set the routine for the morning before they had to be back to get ready for the reaping.

At 18 he was shorter than all of his 4 younger brothers but what he lacked in height he made up for in determination and ferocity. He began his stomach crunches, calling out for the others to keep up with him. "1...2...3...4...5...6...come on keep up, you wanna win the games or die there? 7…8…9…" Flint looked over and saw Brute flop back onto the ground. "Keep going!" He shouted to the others.

"Brute, what's goin on?" Flint surveyed his brother and took in the sweaty forehead, flushed cheeks and swollen glands.

"I don't feel well Flint, can I go home?" Brute's voice was still high, despite his height he was only 12.

Flint nodded to himself and crossed the gym to the rack of weighted backpacks they used for endurance training; he hefted a lighter one off the bottom shelf and carried it over to his brother easily with one hand. Brute gave out a cry when Flint dropped the pack onto his stomach.

"You keep going and every time you fall behind I get a heavier pack" Flint repositioned himself on the floor. "You get tough Brute or you die. Now come on! 10…11…12…13…14..."

Flint knew he was tough. He wasn't going to die.

District 3

Relay pressed snooze on her alarm clock, she didn't need to rush today, the reaping wasn't until 11 and the family repair shop wouldn't open until afterwards so there was plenty of time to get up.

She looked over at her sister Di who had clearly gotten up early and was now knelt silently, praying on the floor of their little bedroom. Relay reached for her pillow and hit Di on the back of the head.

"What are you doing?!" Di cried "I'm praying for you too you know?!"

"Well thank you very much but I think I'll take my confidence from nice, logical statistics instead." Relay smirked, though they were twins they couldn't be more different in appearance or temperament. Relay was dark haired, top of her classes at school and had an impulsive, creative personality. Di was fairer and struggled to read at times, she said the letters moved all over the place and she preferred to spend her time helping at the local nursery school where she would surely take a job when they turned 18 in 3 years.

Relay's stomach flipped at the thought of the reaping today but she calmed herself when she remembered that they only had 4 entries each. The repair shop did good business thanks to the contract with the peacekeepers for their vehicle and weaponry maintenance, they were woefully underpaid by the capitol of course, but it was enough to prevent them taking the tesserae and to keep them all fed. Relay dressed in her usual paint splattered pants and shirt. She never intended to get her clothes dirty but it seemed that living above the shop meant all her clothes became work clothes eventually! She slid a pair of dragonfly slides into her hastily combed hair and was ready.

Buzz didn't have to wake up to his mother's tentative knock at his bedroom door as he had been awake all night, they all had.

"Sweetheart I've put some clothes out for you" His mother called, her voice caught slightly, she must still be crying a little.

"Thank you!" He called back trying to sound normal. Buzz saw she had laid out the formal pants and shirt he had worn to his cousin's wedding a month ago. He dressed carefully and took some deep breaths to try to alleviate the anxiety pangs which racked his stomach.

When he opened the bedroom door he saw his father's forced smile "Well, don't you look smart?" His father tried to say brightly.

Buzz began to cry again, his mother knelt to hug him and his father embraced them both. They all stayed that way for a long time.

His father broke away first "Right, come on lets head to the square, we can't be late." He put a hand on his wife's shoulder and she broke away from Buzz but kept hold of his little hand.

"Don't worry mum" Buzz said as chipper as he could manage "We'll be okay."

His mother nodded and dried her eyes. His father added "I'm sure these will get easier as you get older, we've good odds, let's just get this first one out of the way"

District 4

Capelin's lean body cut through the water easily, she had tried to head home to get ready for the reaping 3 times but each time she tried to swim back to the beach panic had taken hold and it was too easy to just stay in the water where life was so uncomplicated.

Well maybe not so uncomplicated…the peacekeepers in East Water tower were watching her, guns ready, as if she may decide to swim off into the distance. Capelin often wondered what was out there; maybe there was some distant land which had never heard of Panem and reapings. Maybe she could take one of the fishing boats and sail away. She shook her head; there was no way that would ever happen. The deep sea fishing boats seemed to have more peacekeepers than fishermen on them and the little dinghies would never make it out to sea unnoticed.

"Hey!" A voice surprised her all of a sudden. Capelin had reached for a nearby rock and instead had grabbed onto a boy with hair bleached almost blonde and tanned skin.

"I'm sorry" she said as she bobbed around in the water, wow he is cute!

"It's ok I guess, just watch what you're doing, you shouldn't be in the water if you're not concentrating." The boy said with a concerned look.

A rush of rage filled the space where anxiety had once lurked. "I do just fine in the water thanks" Capelin spat at him "Maybe you shouldn't be swimming so close to other people, there's a whole ocean out there, use it."

The boy just smirked. "I'm Bala, you heading off to the re…" A huge wave cut off Bala's question as he was pushed under the water for a moment.

Capelin had seen the wave and dived through it. She laughed as Bala surfaced "You know you shouldn't be in the water if you're not concentrating. I'm Capelin"

They smiled at each other for a moment before the sound of a siren signalled that it was one hour until reaping time. Time to go.

Capeling and Bala swam to shore together. "How many entries do you have?" Capelin asked as she squeezed sea water out of her long, black hair.

Bala kicked the sand. "Enough, I take tesserae for my mum, me and my brother. My dad died when _Capitol's Mercy _sank. I was 9. You?"

Capelin felt ashamed, she had no tesserae. Her older sisters both worked in the warehouse and her parents worked on the boats, Capelin even supplemented their income by picking rope, it was hard work but at least at 15 she only had the standard number of entries. "I've been lucky so far" was all she said.

Bala smiled at her again "I hope your luck continues" he said.

Capelin was so taken aback by his kind words she could only think to say "Thank you, I hope you beat the odds" but it sounded strange, in fact she was starting to feel uncomfortable stood on the beach, dripping wet, talking to this sweet strange boy. But Bala seemed unabashed "Two more to go" he said. They stood in awkward silence until a peacekeeper shouted to get moving and with a wave they said goodbye.

District 5

Zara awoke to another grey day, it was always grey here. You'd think that the power plants would mean that the town would be brightly lit or at least allow people to have electricity for most of the day. As it was they barely had an hour or two in the evenings for the capitol programming. The fences all had power of course and the homes of the peacekeepers.

Zara peered through the bars of her cell. She had been in the small overnight cells as she had refused to attend school for the last 4 days. She didn't care anymore she just couldn't go back to another day of training for a factory job making circuit boards.

"You awake in there?" A peacekeeper with hard eyes and a wrinkled forehead banged on the bars with his stick.

Zara rolled her eyes "Yes officer."

"Right listen" His tone became more condescending with each sentence "You will get ready and we'll escort you to market square for the reaping, after which your family can have you back. Tomorrow you WILL attend school. Do you understand?"

"Yes officer" Zara's reply may as well have been 'whatever' for all she clearly cared.

"You might think you're gonna keep getting it easy 'cos you're 12 but next time you come to my cells, you'll have no food or water till you're begging to make circuit boards."

Zara scoffed, he thought he was scary did he? He'd clearly never met her father, this cell was a palace compared to the cupboard she was forced to sleep in when her father was drunk or sick of the sight of her, or both.

Zara wasn't scared of her first reaping; the odds were never in her favour. Why should the games be any different?

Zane waited outside the justice centre for Zara, he was 2 years older so his father had blamed him for her arrest and had beaten him for 20 minutes.

"Zara!" he called as the peacekeeper led her out of the door with his hand on her shoulder.

She turned with anger in her eyes but it dissipated as she saw the cut above his eye and the bruise on his jaw. "Zane, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, are you alright?" Zane fidgeted as he kept up with them and tried not to look at the peacekeeper.

"Yeah, they fed me…." Zara noticed the jealousy in his eyes; dad must have drunk his wages again.

"That's enough, get along to the square" The peacekeeper lashed out with his taser stick but Zane dodged it, he'd had plenty of practise dodging attacks.

He scampered on ahead. "See you soon, good luck!" He called

Zara started to call back but the peacekeeper shocked her with the stick, she wished him luck though as the world went black.

District 6

Deltic and Cess met up at the market as they always did on the day of a reaping. Their parents had good jobs maintaining the train lines so they always had money for the tiny little café near the main station. Deltic loved it in the café, it had comfy seats and premium ingredients because it was next to the train stop where any capitol citizens would stop off on their way through the district.

Kids from the district wouldn't normally be allowed in the café but everyone knew their parents so the barista would let the girls come in and buy a hot chocolate to share. Then they'd sneak into one of the many engineer sheds and hide away.

Deltic held the cup, warming her hands; her face had gone even colder as her tears had dried. "I guess we'd better go?"

"Yeah" Cess said morosely, they hugged and Deltic breathed in the dried lavender her best friend always smelled of. "Every year Deltic we say we'll tell everyone"

"I know, but we're only 17, they'll say it's a phase or force us apart, after we become adults we can live together and no one will know…" Deltic wondered why she was bringing this up now; didn't they have enough to deal with on reaping day?

"I don't want to pretend Deltic!" Cess pulled away "I want the world to know I love you"

They kissed, the warmth of their lips made the cold seem so far away. "I love you too" said Deltic

Cess smiled "Don't be so afraid, we don't need to apologise to anyone for who we are" and with that she opened the door, the wind whirled her hair out behind her and the snow blew in. She held out her hand "Come on, two best friends can hold hands if they're scared about being reaped." Deltic put her black mitten into Cess' grey one and she wished she was as brave as the girl she loved.

Goyle chose his outfit carefully, he liked to look good but it was easy when you were tall and slim, with heavy lashes over blue eyes.

His mother gave him a beaming smile when she served him his breakfast "Eat up you need your strength."

Goyle looked down at the unappetising mush before him which was the only grain they could afford, he ate it for his mother's sake but he'd go out before the reaping and flirt with the bakery girl to get a bread roll or muffin. He never had any trouble talking to girls and, with this being reaping day, there was a nice sympathy vote as well. He smiled at his mother but he wanted to scream out his hidden thoughts _I'm volunteering today!_

Goyle was sick of eating mush and wearing second hand clothes, he wanted a house on victor's row with heating and electricity. He didn't want the same dead end jobs as his parents. He wanted the best and the only way to do that is to win the Games. His mother would be upset at first of course, but once she saw him on the screen winning, she'd realise how much this would help them all.

"Last reaping today darling, its nearly over" His mother gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"Yes it is" Goyle kissed his mother's cheek and ate his mush.

District 7

Fern got up and made breakfast for her family, she warmed up a stew and made bread using the dough her sister had kneaded for her.

Fern was lost in her thoughts when she heard the kitchen door scrape open, it startled her and she dropped boiling hot stew onto her right arm. "I'm sorry" her mother said as she dabbed away the gravy "I didn't know you were in here."

"It's fine." Fern looked down at the skin which had started to blister but there was no pain, she had felt nothing in that arm for years, since she and her friend had snuck into lumber yard 3 at night. Fern had been leaning against a log pile when it started to give way and had been trapped under it for hours while her friend went home, too scared to tell anyone where she was. Fern had been lucky that night as she had lived but her right now arm was now strapped to her side, useless.

Her mother gave her a hug. "Breakfast looks wonderful, thank you darling."

They hugged for a while before Fern wiped away a tear and tried to smile for her mother's sake.

"Don't worry about me, we'll be ok." She smiled sadly. "Lets eat up and go"

_Chop, Chop, Chop. _Bear worked steadily, he did everything at the same pace with the same high level of concentration.

"Okay, think we should knock off now and head back, you need a quick wash before we head out to the reaping." Bear's father looked at him square in the eyes when giving instructions.

Bear nodded. He didn't say much, he just laid his axe down and started to walk away.

"Hang on!" His father called "Come back and pick up your things to take with you. Put the axe away in the shed."

Bear nodded and shambled back, his huge shoulders hunched forwards and his toes dragging ever so slightly in a way which wore the front of his work boots down.

Back home, once Bear had cleaned up, his father reached up to give him a pat on the shoulder. "We're going to the square now. Okay? Same as last time, you need to let the lady prick your finger when we sign in."

Bear started to tremble and shake his head. Why did the lady want to hurt him again? There had been trouble last year when 4 peacekeepers had had to restrain him in order to sign in, he hadn't meant to hurt the capitol worker but he didn't like the shock of the little needle.

"Shhhhh" His father said soothingly "This is the last time okay, next year you'll just be watching like me."

Bear listened silently. He'd do what his father told him like a good boy, and then next year he only had to work. The men in the lumber yard were kind and treated him well, they gave him clear instructions and weren't angry when he didn't understand. Bear didn't like school, they called him 'big and dumb' and the little ones poked him and ran away.

He smiled at his father "Yes"

District 8

Mili rubbed her eyes and put her glasses on, focussing on the tiny stitches was making her eyes hurt but her embroidery was worth a lot to her family so, reaping or no reaping, it had to be finished in time.

"You done Mils?" Her sister called "Come on, lets get ready."

"In a second" Mili barely looked up from her work. She was embroidering a baby blanket for the Mayor and the pay would mean they could eat for at least 3 days. Once she was done with her last few stiches she stood and let Angelina brush and style her hair before putting on one of her sister's hand me down dresses.

"How do I look?" Mili asked quietly

"Beautiful as always Mils." Angelina smiled sadly and started to take in the waist of the dress with a few pins, money had become much scarcer since their father had died and, despite her factory job, Mili had to take tesserae as well as her embroidery work just to keep them alive- it was a lot to have on her slim shoulders at 13.

"Do we have to go now? I only have the flowers to finish off; if we take it with us we might get paid tonight." She asked hopefully.

"Sure, we've got half an hour if you like." Angelina had barely spoken the words before Mili turned her attention back to her work, her forehead wrinkled with determination and her little fingers stitching deftly. She asked "I'll make you some tea if you like before we go?" but there was no answer, no one could lose themselves in a task like Mili so Angelina just closed the door quietly and left her to her work.

Bolt slid his body into one of the storage units between two huge rolls of green linen. They'd never find him here.

"Boy! We saw you come in, get out here or you'll be dragged out!" A deep voice echoed throughout the machining floor beneath him. Bolt steadied his breathing and tried to make no noise.

Footsteps drew closer and he heard Master Facing call him "Every year Bolt! Why are you such a worthless coward? Everyone else will be in the square already!"

Better a worthless coward than a dead tribute. Thought Bolt, he had tried to hide on reaping day for the last 2 years and they always found him eventually and dragged him to the square then beat him before they left as a message to any other prospective runaways. Bolt didn't care, they could beat him each year but he had to avoid the reapings somehow. Other children might be scared that their parents would pay for their absence with whippings, prison or worse but Bolt didn't have any family to worry about him and he would love to see one of the foster home Masters be beaten for a change.

"Bolt!" This voice was squeaky, a child's voice "Please come out! They're going to beat us both!"

Bolt heaved a sigh, dirty tricks, his best friend Awl was a good boy, always did what the Masters wanted and even gave his bread to Bolt when he was given starvation punishment.

Bolt slid out, running his hands along the fabric as he did so. "I'm coming."

He climbed down the spiral staircase to the factory floor. Awl was stood with his arm twisted behind his back; a peacekeeper and the Master were stood behind him.

"I'm sorry, I'll come wi….." A sharp pain in the back of his head and it all went black.

District 9

The rain dripped down the back of Palea's neck and down her shirt; she shrugged it away as she worked. Tending the fields was hard but Palea found it satisfying, she enjoyed being out in the elements and treasured the knowledge that what she did was truly important.

As the rain finally dried up she saw the sun had climbed higher in the sky, time to go.

Home was only a little shack really but in it were her favourite people, her loving parents and 2 brothers, she could smell stew cooking when she got outside the front door and could hear the scrabbling sounds of a large family getting ready in a small house.

"You're shoes are on the wrong feet!" Her father called as he tried to get the boys ready for the reaping.

"Palea come and have some lunch before we go" Her mother ladled out a thin stew made with the dandelions which grew behind the house and some unnamed meat she bought from the toothless woman who traded in the square. She sat down and ate it happily, hoping it never changed.

Brush ran her fingers playfully through her hair as she smiled with her friends. Ace knew she knew he was watching her and tried to catch her eye- when he did she winked at him and turned away.

He strutted towards her with a confident grin "Hey baby, walk you home?"

"Sure" Brush gave a wave to her friends and walked close to him as they headed towards the better end of town, her father was chief inspector for the mills and they lived in a house as large as the mayor's own.

Ace took her grocery bags and carried them easily. "You got something pretty lined up for the reaping?"

She scoffed "What are you saying about what Im wearing now?!"

They laughed at the flirty banter that had gone back and forth for weeks.

Ace took his shot "So what do you think? Can we stop playing now? You know how good we are together."

Brush took a deep breath and cocked her head to the side. "Look Ace, you're cute, the cutest, and that'd be great for now but we finish school this year and I've got no intention of becoming 'Mrs. Field Labourer.'

It was like a shot to the heart. "So I'm too poor for you?!"

She had the decency to blush "Well, yeah. I love my life, I love having nice food and clothes, and I'm not giving that up." They reached her doorway. "I'm not saying this to be cruel but me and you can't happen because we're too different, I'll always be up here and you'll always live at Field Edge." Brush took the groceries and headed into the house.

As Ace trudged home his mind raced, he saw himself in reflection of the bakery window, and at 18 he was strong from his work in the fields and mills each afternoon. He wanted Brush so badly and being poor wasn't going to hold him back. He knew what to do, he'd win the games for Brush and they could live together in Victors Village. Ace picked his head up and walked home happily as he planned his life with his love.

District 10

The smell was the worst thing about the cattle sheds Mika decided as she slopped the mop along the floor; it wasn't so much the smell of the animals as it was the smell of the disinfectant they used to clean the floors. As she cleaned the mop off under a tap her boots slid on a puddle of water and she landed heavily, tipping her mop bucket onto herself.

She gave a little moan. Yep _this_ is the worse thing about the sheds.

"Hahaha! Look everyone Stinky is having a bath!" Lowe, a boy from her year who was on feeding duty laughed and pointed so loudly that everyone who hadn't noticed her fall now looked over.

Stinky, the nickname had come from her first tour of the slaughterhouse with school when she was 9, Mika had peed herself when she saw a cow being stunned before slaughter and then vomited and passed out on the floor in a pile of dung. The teacher had told her to 'toughen up' and refused to let her change out of her soiled clothes for the rest of the day, since then the kids had been cruel and no one would play with her. At 14 Mika had simply tuned them all out.

Splat! A cowpat hit Mika on her shoulder. "Here you go stinky, some perfume." Lowe smirked at her.

Mika tried to comb it out of her hair with her fingers; yep _this_ was definitely the worse thing, spending time with losers like Lowe who took so much joy in bullying her.

"Hey Lowe!" She flicked some of the dung at him just as the teacher arrived to escort them to the square for the reaping.

"Mika! That behaviour is disgusting, its bad enough you are rolling around on the floor but flicking waste at others is not acceptable! You will not be allowed to shower; you will remain in those clothes as punishment for this behaviour." The school mistress turned on her heals and left the shed.

Yep _that_ was the worse thing about the sheds.

District 11

Rosy's back cracked as she stood up. "Ah!"

"Get back to it! Shut up!" The peacekeeper shouted to her and made a cruel motion with his guard stick.

Rosy leaned down and searched the orchard floor for more apple windfalls. Her arms were burning and she felt ready to drop but the peacekeepers were relentless and any unscheduled stop was met with verbal abuse and physical pain. She missed being in the treetops picking the fruit, when she turned 15 last year she had finally grown too tall for the job and it was given to one of the little ones, now she spent her days bent double staring at the orchard floor.

A whistle gave the signal to stand and head to the meeting point. Capitol officials awaited them and took their blood to register their attendance at the pre-reaping draw. District 11 was too large for everyone to be in the town square at once so they had sub drawings in the morning and those who were not drawn worked the rest of the day. Rosy queued patiently, the way she did everything, she saw the officials direct those in front of her, if the machine beeped when it took your blood you were sent to the square for the official reaping and if it stayed silent you went back to work. A disturbance behind her made her turn.

"Get off me! I only took one!" Eli, a boy from her street was ripped from the queue.

The apple in his hand said it all, Eli had made the foolish decision to steal, the apple looked wormy and unappetising but stealing was banned. There and then the peacekeepers pulled out their guard sticks and beat him until he could no longer scream. They dragged him to the front of the queue and thrust his finger onto the datapad- once they heard the beep they threw him into the cluster of people waiting to go into justice square for the reaping.

Rosy realised that, if he had not been selected for the main draw, Eli would have been hanged for theft- at 15 you became eligible for the death penalty. The hunger games may have saved his life!

"Left please" The official repeated. Rosy looked down and came back to reality, the datapad had beeped and she was being herded towards Eli's group. Oh God, she thought, I just want to go back to picking apples.

District 12

"Get back here!" Ginny called as the boy sped away from her stall, he clutched a parcel of goat's cheese to his chest. A peacekeeper gave chase but no doubt he'd just keep the cheese if he caught the boy.

Great, that's money down the drain. She groaned as she thought of how her parents would punish her when she got home. The square was starting to shut up now, traders with fresh produce had opened up shops and stalls early as always but now it was mid-morning and everyone was getting ready for the reaping. Lots of merchants didn't open at all on reaping day but Ginny's parents had insisted that they try to sell some of the cheeses which were on the cusp of going bad.

Ginny had been happy to try as she hated eating food once it had gone bad and that was all they ever seemed to eat these days.

Workers were climbing up ladders hanging bunting and flags to demonstrate the patriotism of district 12, they couldn't leave them up all year or someone would steal them and sell the cloth at the Hob.

Ginny got home to find her parents working in the vegetable garden, they were angry about the cheese but she didn't get a slap. They must be feeling sentimental today, she thought. Ginny dressed in something threadbare but smart and ate some of the unsold cheese.

She sat in silence in her room looking around, wondering if this was it, the last time she would look in her little mirror or run her hands over her bedspread.

After an hour or so of wringing her hands and waiting, her father knocked at the door. Time to go

Baulk ran as fast as he could, clutching the cheese to his chest. The peacekeeper was losing stamina; he was one of the older ones who'd rather be drinking another glass of sprits than chasing yet another miscreant.

He reached the Seam and hid amongst the shacks, panting and listening for the sound of approaching footsteps but none came, a good job as Baulk's stomach rumbles were so loud they would surely have given him away.

Baulk got back home to find his mother bathing one of the little ones in a bucket whilst his father slept on the chair; the mines were shut on reaping day so he had worked through the night. His mother smiled when she saw the parcel of cheese and patted his shoulder when he added his other misbegotten wares from a morning pinching from market stalls, two apples, a small bread roll and a fish. His father would sometimes scold him gently for stealing from merchants but they were all too hungry to really complain, there were 5 children and his father's wage paid for very little. Tesserae and theft were the only reasons they hadn't starved. His mother cut the apples, bread and cheese up into little portions and handed it out. Baulk looked around at the gaunt faces of his family, he would go out later and try the bins at the back of the merchant streets, perhaps then they could eat another meal tonight, maybe just once they would sleep without the pain of hunger. He could hope at least anyway.


	2. Chapter 2- The Reapings

District 1

Shimmer smoothed down the skirt of her demure navy blue dress and set her face into one of patient attentiveness as the capitol liaison, Tollero Mirona, took the stage. The Liaison reached up to touch his powder blue hair (which, in Shimmer's opinion must have been a wig) and welcomed them all with a bright smile. As he began to intone about the treaty of treason, Shimmer's mind went to the camera; she was sat very close to the front of the stage so surely all of Panem was watching her now. She was famous.

The thought was exciting, she wondered what they thought of her dress and her hair which she had curled and styled until it shone like the sun.

Shimmer looked out to the crowd, they were all staring at her too, she must remember to wear her hair this way more often!

Hang on?! Tollero was looking at her too and all was quiet.

"Shimmer Stone?" Tollero's bright smile was fixed on her "Up to me please"

She looked all around and for a second her face flashed with anger, this was not supposed to happen! Then she took a deep breath and stood, no one would volunteer for her, not the mayor's daughter who told everyone what to do every day of her life. They would think she wanted this and some may have wanted this fate for her, well fine! Shimmer fixed her pretty face into a determined grin and took to the front of the stage- I will win this. She told the universe.

Andesine flexed his fingers as he saw Shimmer walk to the front, the dumb blonde hadn't even realised she had been reaped!

No time to think about that just wait for it….Tollero walked to the boys reaping bowl and reached inside, he twirled the entries around and pulled one out.

Here we go….here we go… He had to be first to volunteer; no doubt there were plenty of others waiting for their shot. "And the male tribute for District 1 is… Grant Hayall!"

"I volunteer!" Andesine's hand shot up as his voice rang out, within a split second another and another rang out as well. Here we go, he thought apprehensively, who was first?

Tollero smiled at the crowd "Another fantastic show of spirit from District 1! Grant where are you?"

A skinny 12 year old put his hand up. Tollero continued "And are you happy for a volunteer to take your place?" The boy nodded with wide, teary eyes.

"Okay! I believe the first volunteer was the young man on this side" he pointed to Andesine "Would you like to take the stage please?"  
Andesine walked calmly to the front, he knew the cameras were trained onto him now and he ensured he moved confidently and kept his expression carefully blank- emotion was weakness and was going to be one of the strongest.

District 2

Dacia stood and listened attentively as the Mayor thanked Esmeralda Peach, the capitol liaison, for being here today. Esmeralda walked to the microphone, tottering in her ridiculously high shoes, and thanked the crowd for a wonderful turnout.

As if we have any choice, Dacia thought with a roll of her eyes.

"And congratulations go to last year's winner Laine! Lets see if we can do it again this year!" Esmeralda gestured to Laine who gave a wave and a grin.

"Well then, lets begin!" _tap…tap…tap… _went the shoes as Esmeralda headed to the entry bowls. "Our female tribute will be…Dacia Foster!"

A jolt hit Dacia in the heart, it was her! The girls on either side of Dacia reached over for her hands and gave them a squeeze, they were not allowed to turn to look at her or show any emotion at the result, they would certainly be beaten if the Mistresses saw them holding hands. Dacia squeezed them back, glad of the human touch at this time.

She smoothed her palms on her dress and prepared to walk when she heard shouts of

"I volunteer!"

Dacia nearly passed out; of course there would be volunteers! Huge, well fed, strong, fast and ambitious girls wanted the glory of winning the games.

"Wonderful! Dacia are you happy for a volunteer to take your place?" Esmeralda asked

Dacia glanced at the Mistresses, they weren't even looking at her, they didn't even care that her life was in the balance. The home had taken so much from her, even her last name had been changed to Foster to take a little more of her identity and what did they give her?

She barely believed her own voice as she said "No."

Dacia looked out from the stage at the lines of foster children all lined up in grey and, even though she knew what was to come, she pitied them.

Flint saw the scrawny girl take the stage, an easy kill to be sure! He hoped they weren't all so frail; he wanted to be the head of a wolf pack hunting tributes, that one would certainly die of exhaustion or exposure before he even reached her.

He barely heard Esmeralda call the boys name, he called out and was clearly first. He knew the boy from the gym, he was good but he was only 14, not his time yet. The boy stepped back into line and Flint was called forwards.

On the stage he gave his name in a deep, sullen voice.

"Well then, shake hands tributes!" Esmeralda clipped in her strange, high pitched voice.

Flint took the skinny hand offered out to him and crushed it as he shook, he looked the girl square in the eye and smiled, determination shone in her cool gaze, he saw that she was trying not to wince with pain as he squeezed her fingers.

Maybe these games wouldn't be too boring after all!

District 3

Relay and Di signed in together and stood as close as possible in the lines, glancing nervously at each other every few seconds.

Falcon Grite was the capitol liaison who spoke to them all, he had had more surgery since last year, his nose and mouth were definitely more beak like than before. His body suit was made of feathers which swished when he walked.

"…and I think we are all grateful for the Capitol's generosity. Well, lets begin." Falcon walked to the bowl of female slips of paper. "Our female tribute for District 3 is Diode Florence"

Di stiffened beside Relay, they shared a look of pure panic as people began to move to let her through.

"No!" Relay grabbed her sister's hand and yanked her back into place "I volunteer!"

"You can't" she heard her sister begin to say but by then Relay was halfway to the front

A peacekeeper helped her up the steps and Relay headed towards Falcon.

"And who are you?" He asked

"Relay Florence"

"I see" He nodded "Well, not to worry Diode, you're sister seems very generous, maybe she'll share the winnings!" Falcon believed himself to be very funny indeed.

"Lets continue!" He grabbed a slip from the boys bowl "The male tribute will be Buzz Maynard"

A scream echoed out from the crowd as Buzz's mother cried out and tried to reach him, peacekeepers held her back and their fingers dug in as they pinned her away from the cameras.

Buzz was frozen, the other 12 year olds backed away from him and he had no choice but to head towards the stage. Tears started and could not be stopped; he was snivelling as Falcon helped him onto the stage and stood patting his shoulder, obviously feeling uncomfortable at this unpatriotic display.

Falcon quickly gave out a goodbye before the tears became a flood of sadness which would certainly not be good for ratings.

District 4

Capelin caught Bala's eye as she lined up with the other 15 year olds. He gave a cheery wave and pointed to the front "Pay attention" he mouthed with a smile.

"And our first tribute is…" Dondaro Flock swept his red, satin cape aside as he reached into the bowl of names for female tributes "Capelin Shoal!"

Capelin stifled a wave of nausea and stood frozen. "Miss Shoal, don't be shy!"

She slid through the silent crowd and made her way to the front, on the stage she looked for her family and tried to will herself somewhere else.

"Now the boys…Bala Reef!"

Bala took to the stage in the same way, he searched the crowd until he saw his family and worried how on earth they would manage without his tesserae.

"Shake hands tributes!" Dondaro called.

Bala looked into Capelin's eyes; they were the colour of the sea in a storm. He wondered how he was going to kill this girl he had thought about non-stop since their meeting in the sea and he wondered if she was thinking the same thing.

I can't kill him. Capelin thought. But I want to go home.

District 5

Zara's side burned from the taser stick. The peacekeeper stood so close to her that she could smell his awful breath; clearly everyone thought she was a flight risk.

When her name was called the peacekeeper looked down at her with a strange expression, torn between thanks that she was no longer his problem and something which almost looked like pity.

Zara stalked up the steps to the stage and glared at the crowd, her father was swaying as he stood and staring into space. She wondered if he'd even notice she was gone.

The capitol liaison Gertie Plank swished her frilly frock towards the boys bowl.

Zara didn't care who was picked, she'd fight and bite until the end so let them pick the biggest teenager of them all, she'd have clumps of his hair out before he knew what was happening.

But they didn't pick the biggest teenager of them all.

"Zane Foal! Well it seems this is a family affair indeed!" Gertie smiled and patted Zane's shoulder as he stood next to his sister.

Zane felt nothing but pain in his chest from the crippling fear, he reached for his sister who looked so tough and resilient but she shrugged him away and he saw a warning in her eyes. She was right of course, they needed to appear strong, it would be hard enough being young and underfed without seeming weak as well.

He faced the cameras and stuck his jaw out proudly, as if his bruising was from a fight with an older bully- although in a way he supposed it was!

District 6

Deltic stamped her feet, trying to get some life back into her toes. The cold water had seeped into her boots and her tows were freezing.

The Mayor shook Quarlin Polcock's hand and welcomed him to their district, thanking him as a representative of the Capitol.

Quarlin nodded amiably and picked out a girls name "Deltic Frain- where are you my dear?"

This is it. Thought Deltic. The end, Cess was right, so much would go unsaid, undone, she had lived her life in shadow and for what? To die as a no one. The peacekeepers were heading her way, taking her long pause to mean she was frozen with fear.

Deltic took a deep breath "I'm here!" she shouted "I'm coming" She turned to Cess who had tears creating warm rivers down her cheeks and neck. She kissed her on the lips for all to see "I love you, I swear I will come back. No more hiding." With that Deltic climbed the stage proudly and faced the camera with a look of steely determination.

"Well!" Exclaimed Quarlin "We are in high spirits today, glad to see a tribute with some fire. Now for the boys…"

Goyle recovered from his shock at Deltic's reaction to her nomination. He ran his hand through his hair, using the rain to slick it back, fortunately the bit of perspiration on his forehead would look like raindrops.

He saw the little kid get picked and start to walk when he shouted "I volunteer!"

Everyone around him whispered and nudged each other; volunteers were rare in District 6 and those who did volunteer usually made it known. The little kid whispered a thank you as he scurried back in line. Goyle was aware of his mother's voice calling to him, begging him no to do this but he moved to the stage calmly.

Goyle faced the crowd and smiled at the misty eyed girls who were so sad to see him go.

I'll be back. He thought smugly. I'm going to be a victor.

District 7

Fern felt the eyes on her as she made her way to the stage, well the eyes on her arm anyway. She saw a mixture of pity and revulsion in their eyes. There would be no sponsors for her, no hope, the girl with one arm was what they would call her. The girl who would never come back.

She felt no better when Bear's name was drawn, everyone knew Bear and, even though the draw of his name made him sob as he was almost dragged up to the stage by 5 peacekeepers, no one pitied him. He was so huge that he could break her neck without batting an eye.

She was sure someone stuck him with a needle as he walked because he was swaying slightly on the stage and his pupils had dilated, like he'd been sedated. If the armed peacekeepers had had to drug him to keep him under control then what could she do?

He turned his big, sad eyes to her and she felt so sad that he didn't seem to understand what had happened she whispered "Its okay, don't worry, we'll be okay"

Fern shook her head, the Bear and the cripple, what a pair they made indeed!

District 8

Mili focussed intently on the woman addressing the crowd, she wore a unitard which seemed to be made entirely out of mirrors, the effect was blinding and was only accentuated by her long white blonde hair. The lace around her cuffs and ankles was beautifully patterned, Mili was lost in trying to remember the pattern for when she did lace making at the factory, he work was always in demand after all.

A tap on the shoulder brought her back to reality and the peacekeeper motioned for her to head on to the stage. Mili looked at the camera screen and saw her own face staring back at her, her large, owlish eyes rimmed by thick brown glasses. Angelina was crying somewhere in the crowd and Mili realised what had happened. She walked quietly up to the stage and stood nervously looking out at the crowd.

Bolt's head throbbed; one of the peacekeepers had come at him from behind the staircase, a crafty move.

As the ridiculous mirrored women stood next to Mili on the stage he realised how thin they both were, he knew Mili, everyone bought her embroidery work if they could but he knew that she lived in poverty as he did. If the Capitol had so much then why was this woman as thing as someone who barely ate? He shook in head in disgust and disbelief.

"And the male tribute for District 8 is… Bolt Foster!"

Bolt turned to run when he felt the peacekeeper grip his arm "Get up there"

The peacekeeper led him onto the stage.

"Excellent! Your tributes for District 8! Shake hands you two"

Bolt and Mili shook hands and each saw only fear in the other's eyes.

District 9

From the stage, Palea could just about see the fields; the wheat was high and would soon be cut however at the moment it was waving, beautiful and golden, in the breeze. She would never see it again; she knew that she couldn't kill so she just wanted to take this time to remember the place she loved so well.

Ace sighed in relief once Palea's name was called, Brush was safe, her reapings were all done and he wouldn't have to worry about her. He got ready to call out and volunteer for whichever poor soul was chosen.

"And your male tribute for District 9 will be…Ace Hanlen!"

Ace took a step back into the person behind him, that wasn't right, he was supposed to volunteer and look like a hero as he took the stage! Now no one would know he was going to volunteer, he should have told someone first as now no one would believe him!

He saw his face on the big screens and wasn't pleased that he looked confused, perhaps even a little scared! He shook his head and fixed his face into what he hoped was a menacing expression. As he walked up to the stage he passed Brush and tried to catch her eye but she was looking straight ahead. His eyes found her again once he was on the stage but now she looked away, down to her own feet, perhaps she was overcome with emotion? Ace stood proudly, he could still come back a hero, he could still be a victor.

District 10

The mistresses had allowed Mika to clean up; they couldn't really let her turn up to the reaping stinking, what if the camera saw her?

Despite the fact the Mika was now clean, a few members of the class still had to nudge her and make comments but she just ignored them, it was easier and easier each year to not care what they all thought.

She hated reaping day, the fear usually gripped her about a month before the day itself and then the nausea got worse and worse until the day itself. Working with livestock at least meant she was kept busy in the morning but now she way sweating and swaying.

Sometimes Mika thought it might be nice sometimes to have someone to talk to about it all.

When her name was called Mika stumbled her way through the girls, she tripped onto the stage and took her place facing the front. Her eyes found Lowe in the crowd, his smirk made her blood boil but the way the blood drained from his face made her heart leap.

Once Lowe had made it to the stage she saw him as he truly was- a bully who used spitefulness to distract others from the fact that he was scrawny, short and no more intelligent than she was.

Mika saw his fear and smiled.

District 11

Rosy looked around desperately trying to find her brothers in the crowd of boys in the square but it didn't seem that they were here.

Her mother had managed to give her a hug before she signed in but a peacekeeper pulled them apart.

Reena Folio was the capitol liaison for District 11, a stout woman who wore far too much make up, she teetered in huge platform shoes. "Welcome all to the reaping for the 53rd hunger games!"

Rosy listened nervously to the treaty of treason and tapped her foot.

"The female tribute for District 11 will be Rosy Pickman"

Rosy remained composed, she knew that other tributes would watch this soon and she refused to appear weak. She gracefully took the stage and stood as tall as she possibly could, though she knew that posture couldn't compensate for her slim frame and gentle nature.

"Now for the boys! The male tribute for District 11 will be….Eli Frost"

Eli spat on the ground as he walked, he shrugged away the peacekeeper who had sensed trouble and was preparing to walk with him, and stalked up to the stage.

"Thank you tributes and thank you District 11!"

Rosy turned to shake Eli's hand but he just sneered "Put that away, you'll be dead soon so whats the point?"

District 12

Ginny stood still as a statue on the stage, she saw her parents holding each other and mouthing I love yous.

The choice of boy tribute surprised her in more than one way, it was the thief from the market which took her aback at first but more surprising was how free he was with his emotions. He was clearly crying at being chosen, everyone knew if you were picked that you should try to look strong to give a good impression to sponsors and so you didn't appear like an easy target.

Baulk couldn't hold back, he was hungry and tired anyway but when he heard his name his shoulders had sagged. These people had sentenced an entire family to death, without him thieving at the market and scrounging through bins they could die whilst they watched him die on screen. He'd looked into the crowd and found his mother holding his baby brother in her arms and when the tears came Baulk couldn't stop them. Even if he returned, this could be the last time he saw them all alive.


	3. Chapter 3- Goodbyes

District 1

Shimmer's goodbyes were short, with the exception of her parents there was no one she really cared to see.

""We'll be watching for you" her friends had all said but Shimmer could only think of how little that meant to her, they had all watched her get reaped after all.

Her father had promised that he would keep some money aside for sponsorship, Shimmer had smiled and thanked him but she knew that his contribution wouldn't buy much in the arena; the real challenge would be to charm the Capitol audience and get a real sponsor.

She cried as she held her mother close to her but once the peacekeeper had ushered them apart Shimmer dried her eyes and promised no more tears. She would look perfect for the cameras from now on.

Andesine had a hoard of visitors, his worried but proud family and a string of well-wishing friends. He sat back and looked around the justice building, there was a little apprehension but he quickly squashed it as he saw himself in the mirrored drinks cabinet, he was tough, muscled and looked entirely fearsome. His friends had just laughed with him and joked that he'd better be a good mentor next year! None of them had any reason to think he wouldn't return, the least Andesine could do was be as confident in his own abilities as they were.

District 2

Dacia sat wringing her hands apprehensively; she knew that the other foster girls wouldn't be allowed to visit but she wondered if any of the Mistresses would come to say goodbye.

As the minutes ticked past it became more and more clear that no one was coming.

Dacia cried, pitying her own loneliness.

Flint's family all came in to see him, he left instructions for his brothers not to slack off in his absence, he would be a mentor next year and he wanted to train more winners not weak losers.

He started to get bored with visitors, he wanted to get onto the train, he knocked on the door.

"What?" The peacekeeper was brusk and Flint caught a glimpse of a school friend or two waiting on chairs.

"Tell the rest to go." Flint was pleased to see the surprise in the peacekeeper's eyes as he gave the instruction. "I don't need anyone else. Lets just go."

District 3

Di sobbed into her sister's shoulder. "I'm so sorry; I should have told them to just take me"

"No" Relay's voice sounded calm but in truth she felt numb to everything.

They held each other. "Here" her father handed her a small wooden cog "They let you keep a token, take this to remember us. You'll be back here and in the shop in no time." He smiled sadly and stroked her hair.

"Times up!" A peacekeeper called through the door.

They left with a tangle of last hugs, 'I love you' and kisses. Relay fingered the little cog and put it in her top pocket.

Buzz shook as he cried with his parents. He looked into their eyes as they promised to sponsor him, to sell everything they had to buy him whatever he needed, but he knew that it wouldn't help. He was too young, too small and he didn't think he could kill anyone.

His mother clung to him and had to be dragged away by a peacekeeper. The door clicked shut and Buzz pressed himself to it, trying to hear her as she left the building.

District 4

Capelin tried to open the window but it wouldn't budge.

Of course it doesn't open. She realised that some tributes would surely run away.

She hugged her parents and breathed deeply, trying to hold the smell of the sea in her memory, they gave her a token, a little pearl strung on a rope bracelet.

"I found it when I was young" Her mother told her "I always thought it was lucky so I hope…well…we'll all be thinking of you." Her voice caught and she held Capelin close once more.

Bala mussed his brother's hair and told them all he loved them. He knew life would be harder without him so he left instructions about when he normally cast his own small nets and how much to offer the peacekeepers if they were caught fishing.

He thought of winning. He was good with a spear and he was strong from his swimming, maybe he could come home? Then he thought of Capelin and what winning would truly mean.

Bala put his head in his hands and tried to wish it all away.

District 5

Zara and Zane sat in separate rooms waiting. Nobody came.

District 6

Cess burst into the room and grabbed Deltic's face, covering it with kisses. "I love you, I love you, I love you"

Deltic held her hands. "I'm coming back; whatever it takes I'll do it. We'll be ok."

Cess held her gaze "I believe you." She tried to smile "We'll sit in the café with the Capitol people"

"No more apologies" Deltic said with a final kiss "We'll be free"

Her parents had been too sad to say anything but she could tell that they wondered about the strange way with which she had taken the stage, however, this wasn't the time for harsh words or awkward questions so they had held her and loved her and said goodbye.

Goyle did a few press ups and jumped on the spot. He felt so energised.

His mother had beat his chest with her fists as she sobbed and his father as asked him why?

"I want more, I can do this!" He had argued "Why are you ruining this for me?"

"There will be people trying to kill you.." His mother had sobbed at him

"I know, I'm going to kill them all first." His smug smile had frightened his parents. They had given him their love before they left but he knew they didn't understand. Goyle would be fine, he was a predator and he would be a killer.

District 7

Fern paced the room; she peered out of the windows and stroked the soft furnishings.

Her goodbyes had been as sad as expected, she wasn't unpopular and lots of friends and family had come to see her, but she hardly felt anything now. Fern knew this was goodbye so she tried to drink it all in, this sad little town which had been her home.

Bear's father patted his hand and gave him a tissue.

You're such a strong boy, he thought, you could be a winner if you wanted to be. He shook his head sadly. "Don't be afraid. You're big; the others will be scared of you if you show them how strong you are. Don't let them pick on you, hit them back!"

Bear nodded, he'd watched the games but he had no desire to be part of them, no desire to kill.

District 8

Mili cleaned her glasses with the little piece of cloth she kept in her pocket.

Her goodbyes had been sad and she had cried quite a lot, her large brown eyes were now red and puffy behind the thin frames.

Mili had given the baby blanket to Angelina; she knew her work would be worth more money now she was leaving. Mili thought about what was ahead, she gave everything she did utter focus, blocking out all distractions. She could remember every hunger games she had ever watched and knew what the odds of winning were for a scrawny, young girl but there were some who had survived. Mili replaced her glasses and settled back, replaying their victories in her mind and forming a plan for her own survival.

Bolt was sullen. The other foster boys weren't allowed to visit him so he was prepared to sit in silence for an hour, he was sure Mili would have visitors after all.

Must be nice to have someone to say goodbye to.

District 9

Palea's family came to say goodbye, they were loud as they expressed their love and their sorrow. They gripped each other tightly and knew that this was goodbye. Her father told her that he would have brought some biscuits or bread as a goodbye present but they were saving everything they had for her sponsorship money, they wanted to make sure they could send her something, even if it was just one cup on water at the very start of the games.

She thanked them and shouted her love for them through the doorway as the peacekeepers led them all away.

Tap…tap…tap…Ace tapped impatiently, he'd said his goodbyes to his family who didn't understand why he didn't seem more upset, now he was waiting for her. Brush would have to come, she might not have known he wanted to be a volunteer but she would definitely want to say goodbye.

The time ticked away and eventually the peacekeepers came to collect him for the train.

"No not yet, she's coming, just check, she's coming!" But whether she was coming or not, it was too late.

District 10

Mika's parents had come to same goodbye; they brought a change of clothes and a tiny wooden goat which had been her toy as a child, they thought it might be a good token to remind her of home.

They kept telling her that she needed to be strong now for the arena but Mika already knew that, she knew not to cry and to try to get into a pack with the other tributes but more than anything she knew she was going to find a weapon and kill Lowe.

Lowe's pants were still a little damp, he'd peed himself a bit when he was reaped but he didn't think anybody had seen. He'd held his mother but then pushed himself away again, time to get real. He knew he was only short and skinny but he thought he could do this if he tried. He wanted to come home again.

District 11

Rosy's parents had been allowed to see her to say goodbye but her brothers had been told to stay at work. They hugged and whispered comforting words into her ear as she rested her head on their shoulders.

Everyone called her a sweet girl and she was, she knew in her heart that she was being sent away to die, not to fight.

Eli sat sullen in the chair; no one was coming to see him. His mother had died two weeks ago, orphaning him, he had managed to escape the notice of the foster home by stealing food and staying clean but he'd known they would come for him eventually. Well at least he wouldn't die there, beaten and starved until he obeyed some cruel home master; instead he would try to die with a weapon in his hands and some self-respect.

District 12

Ginny's parents held her close. Her mother tied a new yellow ribbon into her hair, a token to take with her. In the end there was nothing really to say so they waited in each other's arms until the peacekeeper came.

Ginny looked at herself in the tiny mirror which hung above a wooden cabinet. Physically she was weak but she was clever, she knew that her best option was to hide from the other tributes, when it was time she would just run away.

Baulk's family were hoarded in together and he told them how sorry he was that he hadn't stolen more that morning.

His mother shushed him and stroked his hair. He promised her he would try his best to come home, that they would never starve again, if only they all held out a couple of weeks they could all be together in comfort.

Baulk kissed his baby brother, knowing he was the weakest and the most likely to die of malnourishment, then held his mother again. "I'll miss you all" he said "I love you so much"


	4. Chapter 4- The Train

District 1

Tollero led the tributes onto the train with a beaming smile. "Welcome you two to the tribute train. We'll be in the Capitol tomorrow morning so make yourselves comfortable for tonight. There is a lounge carriage next to us, then it's another one where we can watch the reapings later and then its Shimmer's bedroom with yours Andesine at the end." Tollero spread out his arms "Help yourselves to the buffet now if you wish and then just relax, we'll all talk about strategy soon."

Shimmer looked at the buffet; there were five silver tureens containing soups and stews, two trays of different breads, another tray of different cheeses and fruits, and a tiered platter of tiny cakes, each small enough to be eaten in one bite. Andesine immediately grabbed a bowl and ladled out a delicious smelling chicken and noodle soup. "You should eat" he grunted at her and helped himself to five pieces of bread, with that he headed to the mahogany dining table and started eating, an attendant hurried over to pour a pressed fruit juice.

Shimmer took some bread, cheese and fruit and joined him at the table.

They chatted awkwardly about nothing for a while before she went for the big question. "Are we a team?" Shimmer asked

Andesine considered it a second, Shimmer seemed healthy but relatively weak, "what can you do?" he countered.

Shimmer felt quite insulted, was he implying that she was useless merely because she hadn't focused all her efforts to being huge and muscled like him? "I can get us sponsors!" she told him angrily "I'm beautiful…"

He scoffed at her "really?"

"Yes! And if you say I'm not then you're a liar, I'll train hard as well of course but I know that I'll look good in the chariot and in the interview, initial sponsorship will be good for me. What can you do?"

Andesine chewed his bread thoughtfully; it was the best bread he'd ever eaten, full of different seeds with a cheese crust. "Okay, lets team up, I want to be part of a pack at the start so lets look over the reapings, see if anyone stands out."

Shimmer nodded and ate her food, she felt a little better now, it was obvious that Andesine would have no end of offers for alliances so it was good that she would come as part of the deal.

Later they met their mentors, Evira and Lye, and informed them that they would be training together. Lye nodded "That's fine, usually District 1, 2 and 4 ends up as a pack together so we'll look out for them particularly. Obviously, at some point you'll both be on your own so you might want to think about how you'll handle that and what your plan will be to get out at the right time."

Shimmer met Lye's eyes as he gave this advice; it seemed that it was advice directly to her.

They watched the reapings after a dinner of blue cheese and cauliflower soup, pork chops with mustard mash and a cake with raspberries hidden in the sponge.

They all agreed that the boy from District 2 had potential as well as both from District 4.

"You can't ever discount District 4" Evira told them "They swim from an early age so can have good strength and stamina."

Shimmer whistled as the boy from District 7 took the stage "He's huge! He's taller than most men!"

Evira nodded as they watched Bear look into the camera "True, but he doesn't look like a fighter. He'll be great for sponsors initially though so we'll have to have him."

They agreed there was good potential for a pack and broke away to go to sleep.

Shimmer and Andesine slept well that night, confident they were starting out as winners.

District 2

Dacia sat in her bedroom feeling sick. She had eaten so much at dinner that she thought her stomach would burst but she couldn't turn the food down because she had never seen so much of it in her life! She took a shower and lay back in the bed playing with the remote which changed the ceiling into a starry night, a sunny day or a cloudy rainstorm and back again.

"Dacia!" Esmeralda's clipped voice sounded through the door "We're watching the reapings now, pop into the carriage behind us when you're ready!"

Eugh! She felt ill as she moved but she had to see what she was facing.

Flint was also feeling a little green, he ate well at home but he wasn't used to such rich fayre and he had turned down dessert in fear of being sick.

He was sprawled in a chair in the viewing lounge with their mentors, an older woman called Brink who seemed unable to keep still for even a second and a lean looking twenty year old called Sheath who had only won five years ago, so far Flint wasn't impressed.

His heart soared when he watched the reapings, there was real potential in the tributes this year, the volunteers would make a good pack and he gave instructions to offer invitations to District 1, 4, 7 and 9.

Dacia tried to make conversation with Flint but he refused to speak to her, instead he addressed Sheath loudly "I want to be trained on my own" and went to bed.

Brink ordered a hot chocolate for her and Dacia and put her arm around her shoulders.

"I'm on my own aren't I? No one will want to be in a pack with me, I'm just a nobody foster girl"

"Better to know you're on your own now than find out in the arena." Brink said it kindly but it still stung.

"What do I do?" Dacia begged "I have no skills, I'm not strong or fast or anything?!"

"First of all, you'll be surprised what you can do when your life depends on it. Secondly, you're used to hardship, don't discount that as a skill, and finally, some advice for now, eat well and sleep well."

"I don't know if I can" Dacia said morosely

Brink looked into her eyes "You must. This time is precious, every meal, drink and hour of sleep you get now will help you in the arena. Flint is sleeping soundly now so he's already 20 minutes ahead of you. Go and sleep, its an order."

Dacia cried in bed for a while until the train rocked her into a restless sleep.

In the next carriage, Flint had ordered more food, showered and slept soundly until morning.

District 3

Relay couldn't take her eyes off Buzz, he ate like a child, leaving his vegetables and overdoing the sweets at the end.

Their mentors, Effect and Gee watched them as well. Effect was young, Relay remembered a few years ago that she won by rigging clever traps which caught and killed the other tributes.

"How would you like to train?" Gee asked them, he hated when a 12 year old was picked, mentoring someone who was probably going to die was so depressing.

"I don't mind training with you Relay" Buzz looked up at her with big eyes

"Erm, yeah sure, together is fine" Relay couldn't imagine what she could show Buzz that would hurt her in the games; she didn't have any special skills.

"So have either of you got any skills we should know about?" Effect asked "Ever used anything which could be made into a weapon?"

They shook their heads.

"Relay, I see you're wearing what look like work clothes, what do you do?"

"My family have a repair shop; we repair the peacekeeper weapons and vehicles." Relay stuffed herself with another mouthful of mashed potato and realised that silence had fallen at the table.

"So that would mean you have used numerous potentially dangerous tools not to mention you have a working knowledge of taser sticks and guns?" Effect's voice was incredulous as she paused with her fork raised in the air.

"Well yes, but I've never fired a gun.." Relay's heart pounded, were they being serious? Did this mean she was actually a real contender in the games?

"That hardly matters! I doubt you'll get a gun in the games anyway, a quick death isn't entertaining. Instead focus on the taser sticks, there'll be something similar in the training suite, take one apart and put it back together, impress them enough with it and they'll include one in the games for you. "

"What about me?" Buzz asked in a quiet voice

Effect and Gee shared a look. "Your strategy is to run and hide, hide the best you can. Train in snares, traps and camouflage."

Buzz nodded bravely as Effect put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

Poor, poor boy. She offered him another cupcake.

District 4

"You're going to be sick" Capelin said as she watched Bala stuff more bread into his mouth

"I'll be fine" a crumb flew out and hit Dondaro on the lapel of his red satin shirt; he looked at Bala distastefully and brushed it away as he said "I think we need to talk about manners before we get to the Capitol."

Their mentors were Conch and Seal. Conch must have been beautiful once but her face was a torrent of scars, including a nasty one which had cut across her eye leaving it milky and unfocused, she was quiet and reluctant to engage in conversation about the games whereas Seal was loud and animated when he spoke. He had a long, beaky nose and tattoos of fish across his shoulders.

"Well you both look good; you're fairly healthy and strong so that's a bonus. You do any knots? Fishing?" Seal gestured at them with his fork as he spoke, making Dondaro wince as the gravy hit the tablecloth.

"Yes" They said in unison, though Bala spoke through a mouthful of raspberries.

Dondaro nodded at them "I always think it must be lovely to live in District 4, days at the beach and fresh fish eh?"

There was quiet and Capelin turned back to the mentors "What do you recommend we do at the cornucopia?"

"Well hang on; are you training together or separately? Do you want allies?" Seal asked

"We're together, I don't mind allies but we come as a pair." Bala spoke confidently "Is that ok with you?"

Capelin nodded "Yes, we're in this together"

They watched the recap of the reapings together and changed their minds about the other allies.

"Are you sure? Districts one and two look very promising, as well as the big guy from seven and the boy from nine?" Seal asked

"We're sure" Capelin told him "We don't know them, we don't trust them so we're just gonna stick together."

Everyone got up to go to bed but Bala pulled Capelin back for a moment. "You've only known me for a day Capelin"

She smiled "I know, but it's a day more than them, plus you're from 4 so you're….you're part of home."

"I hope you know you can trust me" He held her face as he looked into her eyes

"I know, you can trust me too" She held his gaze and meant it.

District 5

"Do you think we might stop eating for a moment to talk?" Gertie asked tentatively

"Shut up" Zara told her as she buttered more bread.

Zane was eating mashed potato by the fistful "I haven't eaten since Monday, I'll stop when I'm done"

The liaison and mentors waited. One of the mentors, a fierce looking man called Moran who had lizard scales tattooed onto his face, smiled faintly at the siblings as they ate "leave them alone" he said "I remember what it was like to starve"

Once dessert, cheeses and coffees were out of the way Zara and Zane sat back looking ill.

"So, now you're full, what can you do? What are your strengths?" Solar was a woman in her mid-forties who had won her games using throwing knives.

"I'm fast" Zara started "we both are, and we can sneak and steal"

The mentors nodded their heads; these were good skills in the arena.

"Another set of scurrying thieves have we?" Gertie asked "Well, I'll sell it as best I can but you, young lady, need to learn to speak more nicely to people or no one will sponsor you at all."

"We don't need anyone" Zara snapped "We've always managed on our own!"

Moran shushed her "Believe me, I know what it's like to be alone, but you don't need pride out there, you need people watching you, betting on your survival above anyone else's. Unfortunately, Gertie is right, you must try to connect with the Captiol audience and make them love you."

"How did you win your games?" Zane asked

"I lived on insects, they called me 'the lizard'" Moran stuck his tongue out; he'd had it split down the middle so it looked forked. Zane recoiled at the sight.

After the reapings Zane pulled Zara aside "I don't know about this, what're we going to do? The one from 7 was huge."

"Calm down, we'll stick together. Remember huge means you stand out, we're going to blend in, the other tributes won't even notice we're there until they're wondering who stole their food."

That night they slept in the same bed, the way they had done years before when their father started drinking and they were scared. "We'll protect each other, don't worry."

District 6

Deltic spent an hour in the shower, pressing button after button until she had tried enough soaps and scented water to smell of flowers her entire life. Afterwards she lay on the bed pressing the food service remote, trying exotic foods she had never eaten before like grapefruit and leeks, if only this were it and there were no games to come.

Quarlin rapped at the door "Deltic! Come and join us to watch the reapings!"

She dressed in a loose, woollen dress and tights from the drawers in her room and made her way to the lounge cart which held the monitors. Goyle was already there, he was picking at a tray of what looked like pieces of raw fish wrapped around rice, he turned to look at her and rolled his eyes "Finally!"

As they watched, Goyle gave instructions to his mentor, Boole, "Him, her, him, him" he was clearly looking for alliances.

Deltic looked over to her mentor, Mirum, and smiled shyly but only received a curt nod in response.

"Shouldn't we talk about my strategy as well?" Deltic asked

Mirum rose from her chair to help herself to a drink, she was so very tall, Deltic was sure that she'd had no problems getting allies in her own games.

"Do you want alliances? To be part of the pack?" She asked

Goyle and Boole looked over at her for her response, Deltic was about to nod her assent when she saw Goyle's eyes, they were full of spite and selfishness.

"No, I'll go it alone" Her voice was steady and confident as she spoke

Mirum nodded and gestured for her to come closer, out of Goyle's earshot. "Remember, packs are a lie" she spoke quietly as she made Deltic a drink "they're strong initially, which is why you need to run away as quickly as possible and hide somewhere near water, but they soon break down and the members wont have learned to make it on their own, they may be well fed and will have had sleep but once they're on their own they struggle more. Pay attention to the survival classes in training, learn how to find food and avoid enemies."

Deltic nodded and repeated "Okay..okay…okay"

Mirum grabbed her shoulders "Don't have a meltdown now, fear is a big killer. I want you to eat well at each meal and sleep every night, also, you're a pretty girl, turn on the charm for the audience, try and get a sponsor."

Deltic took a deep breath and agreed. She drank the drink Mirum had made for her, it was milky and tasted of cinnamon, not long after that she started to feel sleepy so headed off to bed.

Goyle replayed the reapings over and over, ordering food and drinks as he did so, he fell asleep in the lounge as he thought of how he would make his impression in the arena.

District 7

Fern and Bear stood as the mentors looked them over, Flora spoke first "Well this is first for me my girl, never had a cripple tribute before!"

"I'm not a cripple, my other arm works fine and I can do just as much as everyone else"

"Yeah sure you can, bet you can climb trees and everything?" Flora's gaze was piercing but Fern didn't want to tell her mentor that she knew she was going to die; she wanted Flora to at least try to help her survive.

"And what about you?" The other mentor, Cable, gestured at Bear who just shook his head and asked "Can we eat now?"

"Of course" They watched as Bear helped himself to a huge portion of food from the buffet and then sat quietly eating.

Cable turned to Fern "How much of all this does he understand?"

"More than you think, he knows what the games are but he doesn't want to be part of them, believe it or not the other tributes scare him."

"Do you think he would want an alliance? He could take his pick of them all"

Fern held her arm up "I don't know, ask him, I've got my own games to worry about!" She stalked off to the food table and helped herself to a fish stew and bread.

At the table she noticed Bear watching her "What's the matter?" she asked

"I don't like it here, I want to go home to my dad" His eyes watered as he spoke and once again he melted her heart, she reached out and took his hand.

"Don't worry, you'll be okay, just eat up and then we'll go and watch the other reapings."

"I like you" He told her as he finished his food

Fern smiled at him "I like you too"

After they had both showered and changed clothes, they watched the reapings; Bear didn't like watching his own reaping but other than that he showed no emotion as he watched the screen.

Cable turned to Bear "We need to think about the arena now Bear, do you want to be on your own in there or do you want me to organise some….people you can be in a team with?"

Bear thought about it, he didn't like the people on the screen, some of them looked cruel like the children at his school, he looked over at Fern and the way she smiled reminded him of how his mum used to smile at him when he was young.

"I want to stay with Fern, no one else, I'm going to bed now" with that he left the carriage.

Flora laughed "Well Fern, you seem to have bagged yourself the biggest tribute as an ally! Well done!"

Fern stammered "I…I…didn't meant to, I just felt sorry for him!"

"Either way its done now, go to bed and be happy you've got some help, you might make it past the bloodbath now!"

Fern slept and dreamt of a giant who cut his way through a forest of swords and placed her on top of a golden cornucopia.

District 8

Mili surveyed the food laid out before her, she knew her stomach couldn't handle anything too rich so she ladled out a bowl of thick, vegetable soup and added a plate of some of the plainer breads; her plan was to add some weight to her thin frame without losing any through sickness.

"….Mili!" she broke from her focus to find Bolt tapping her on the shoulder "yes?" she asked

"I've been tapping you for ages; can you pass me the butter please? You're blocking the way"

She moved to the table to allow Bolt room to continue filling plate after plate with food.

They only had one mentor, Spool was a tall thin man of around 30, he spoke quickly and peered at them both intently, as if they were some strange new species.

"You need to eat a lot between now and the games" He told them "Once you're at the training centre spend time at the survival stations first then have a few goes with weapons, try to throw a knife or spear accurately."

"I'm fast" Bolt told him "At the cornucopia I could try my luck for some supplies"

"If that's what you want to do then fine do it, at the private session show the judges how fast you are, but remember long term strategy for you both will be to run, the career pack will be hunting you so learn how to hide."

"We could team up?" Mili asked, she knew chances of survival increased if you had at least one ally initially  
Bolt considered it, with another person they could sleep in shifts and help if trouble came "Yeah sure, lets be allies"

Mili watched the reapings intently, Spool chattered on about Districts 1, 2 and 7 but she noticed the boys from 6 and 10 who frightened her as well, they weren't the biggest physical threats but their eyes were cruel and they seemed the type to want to kill slowly to give the audience a good show.

Bolt put his head in his hands and Mili put her hand on his shoulder "Don't despair" she told him

"Sometimes it all seems like too much, I want to just run but I don't know where to go"

Spool told them "Save your running strength for the arena and watch the other tributes, learn who you're going to really need to run from. Now go to bed both of you, there are long days ahead."

District 9

Palea had managed to remain calm as the peacekeepers had led her onto the train but now her patience was wearing thin, she veered between panic at her own future and irritation with Ace who continued to drone on about a girl who he didn't get chance to say goodbye to.

"I just know if they'd given me five more minutes she would have made it, she must have been right outside!"

"Yes I'm sure she's devastated too…" Palea muttered as she took in the train, it was huge and light with plush sofas and chairs. At the side of them there was a table with enough food to feed a family for over a week and, in the corner, an attendant waited nearby with glasses of red or orange juice.

"Welcome, welcome!" Their liaison Looth clapped her hands as she talked "This train will have us in the Capitol in no time, we have food in here for now or you have time to take a shower before the main meal is served in the dining carriage. For now just relax and eat, I'll see where your mentors have disappeared to and then we can talk strategy."

Ace and Palea helped themselves to some of the delicious food; Palea wondered whether any of it had come from their own fields.

"…..been flirting for ages, but I always knew she wanted me in the end"

Was he still talking about Brush?! Palea lost it "Enough! I don't care! She didn't see you because she didn't want to. She knew how long you had to say goodbye, if she truly wanted to see you she would have been there because she would have known that this is it for us! We'll never see District 9 or anyone in it ever again!"

Ace pouted for a moment "You won't, I'm coming back a victor and then Brush and I will have a life together in Victor's Village."

"You won't get home with that attitude" The mentors were stood in the doorway of the carriage, Bloom, a woman who won by strangling the final tribute with her bare hands, crossed the room and took a drink from the attendant's tray. "When you're in the arena don't be thinking about some girl from 9, think about where the other tributes are, what that noise in the undergrowth is and where your next meal will come from. You think about survival, pretty faces will come later."

They ate quietly after that, and, at the reaping viewing, Ace enquired about alliances. His mentor, Ochar, agreed that he would try to arrange something with districts 1, 2, 4 and 7.

Both tributes slept fitfully that night, plagued by stomach cramps from the rich food and nightmares of what was to come.

District 10

"So, are you going to be allies?" Jysa asked

Lowe and Mika had managed to avoid speaking to each other for the last three hours by spending time in their rooms or ensuring they were occupied by food, but now the plates had been cleared away it was time to make some decisions.

"No" Lowe's gaze was fixed steadily on Mika "I don't want to be allied with her"

"That's fine by me, I'd rather be on my own" She retorted "He'd slow me down anyway"

They split up to speak to their mentors but Jysa knew that Mika had nothing going for her, no skills or strength and she wasn't quick or pretty.

"Well" Jysa announced "In the end, be glad that you're little threat to the career pack, just try to stay out of their way and hope the gamemakers don't make life too hard for you"

Lowe was getting frustrated with his mentor, Dayle "Why don't you get it? I want to be in the career pack."

"I told you, I'll talk to people but you don't have anything they want!" Dayle was exasperated, the boy wasn't skilled or strong, what would the careers want with him? He was more likely to be hunted down by them!

"I'll make them want me, just wait, in training I'll get into the pack!"

They watched the reapings and Mika barely registered anyone, she felt so hopeless that she just kept ordering more and more food and drink to block it out, even her bitterness towards Lowe had dimmed, it all seemed so small when she saw what she was up against.

As she headed to bed she passed Lowe in the corridor, he slammed his body into her and her shoulder wrenched as she hit the wall and called out in pain.

"Sorry, train shifted" he smirked as he went into his bedroom

Mika shook her head, she had just been thinking that maybe they should both be in this together but if that's the way he wanted to be then fine, she didn't think she'd be able to win but maybe she could train enough to kill Lowe.

District 11

Rosy and Eli sat together talking quietly, she found out that his mother had recently died and he asked about her brothers, they only had one mentor, Roach, and when he asked what they wanted to do in the arena they decided to become allies.

"Any skills" He asked

"We can both climb, but I think Rosy's better at it than me.." Eli gestured towards her

"Yeah, I used to pick fruit from the top branches before I got too tall" It didn't seem an impressive skill to Rosy, surely the children in the districts climbed trees?

"Okay, well use the time in the training centre well, think about survival, you might be faced with a terrain unlike anything you've ever been in. I was in a huge desert with only floor shrubs, it was lucky I'd paid attention to what was edible or I might have died." Roach gave good advice but Eli's gaze kept being drawn to the chunk missing from his calf, Roach smiled grimly "That was another tribute's trap, it clamped around my leg and I had to drag myself out of it, I left some of me behind. "

The reapings seemed fairly uneventful, one girl had kissed another girl fully on the lips before taking the stage and another district seemed to have reaped the scrawniest brother and sister pair they had ever seen. Afterwards they just sat there, Rosy couldn't stop thinking about whether she would be able to kill these people and, when it came to it, whether she could kill Eli.

District 12

Baulk and Ginny had agreed not to team up. Baulk had decided he was in this for the win and he couldn't carry Ginny along with him, it was a shame because she was a nice girl so he hoped someone else would kill her first.

Baulk ate as much as he could, at the buffet, dinner and later in his room, he wanted to put on as much weight as possible between now and the games. His mentor, Haymitch, had only won in the quarter quell but he wasn't very helpful, he was sullen and seemed to drink quite heavily for someone who had looked so healthy in his games.

Their other mentor, Kala, had won the 18th Hunger Games when she was just 13, she was lucid at times but she kept sneaking away to her rooms and then she'd sleep for hours or come back incoherent and swaying as she stood.

Baulk and Ginny watched the reapings with the Capitol liaison, they both sized up who they thought would be a threat and talked a little but, because they weren't allies, they made no more small talk, if they knew each other well it would only make things harder in the arena.

They both drifted in and out of sleep as they dreamed of fighting and dying.


	5. Chapter 5- The Chariot Rides

District 1

Shimmer shook her blonde hair back out of her face; she was getting warm and was desperately trying not to sweat. "Powder!" She called , and one of her prep team hurried over to re-do her finish.

She stood in front of the mirror and surveyed herself, her dress was a dream of precious stones, tiny sapphires, rubies and emeralds had been stitched into a fine mesh net which draped over one shoulder and flowed down her body, hugging her hips. Her make-up was just as dramatic, violet eyeshadow and false eyelashes which each had a tiny gem on the tip, she was unforgettable.

Andesine joined her in the mirror, he was wearing a matching jewelled mesh which had been made into a tunic with trousers and his short hair had been clipped even shorter and died violet to match Shimmer's make-up.

"Well, turns out you were right" He smirked at her and whispered in her ear "You are beautiful"

"I know" she replied, shivering as she felt his warm breath on her neck.

They took their places at the chariot and looked around, they nodded to the district 2 tributes behind them but there wasn't time to say anything, plenty of time for that tomorrow in training.

As the horses set off they heard the roar of the Capitol crowd and smiled brightly, they blew kisses and waved. On the screens they could see themselves and they looked glamorous and beautiful, there would be sponsors for sure!

District 2

Dacia stroked the coffee coloured horses; they whinnied in her ear and made her smile. Horses were rare in her district, only the very wealthy owned them so Dacia had never managed to get close to one before. She was dressed as a goddess in a long, flowing tunic with a gold woven belt around her waist, Luciana, her stylist, had wanted her to bare one of her breasts as the old warriors had done in battle but Dacia had talked her round in the end.

"Your hair is coming loose!" One of her prep team fussed with the mop of brown curls Dacia was currently sporting.

Flint arrived next to her wearing gladiatorial dress and holding a large sword, he saw Dacia's eyes widen and laughed mirthlessly "Don't worry I won't stab you during the procession" he climbed into the carriage next to her and waved at the District 1 tributes in front of them "I'll wait until the arena, and give the audience a real show."

Dacia stood, frozen with fear, as the horses set off. She looked sidelong at Flint as they rode through the crowd, he kept his face sullen and punched his sword into the air, the crowd oohed as he mimicked thrusting the sword into the stands, they saw an entertaining killer and clapped for him. Dacia risked a wave once or twice but the carriage would jerk and she didn't want to fall, maybe she should have gone topless, at least the crowd would have remembered her!

District 3

Relay looked at Buzz and herself in the mirror and despaired. They were dressed identically in a black body stocking and the stylist had tried to use green thread and metal coins to mimic a circuit board, to top it off, the costume had a black hood so no one would even see their faces, they would be entirely forgettable.

From her vantage point, Relay could see the District 1 and 2 tributes as they had final touch ups from the prep team before getting onto the chariots, they looked amazing, beautiful and strong, everything a tribute was supposed to be.

Relay ripped back the hoods on their costumes, the crowd should at least see their faces, they should at least get a small chance of a sponsor.

"When we get out there smile and wave to the crowd okay?" Relay took Buzz's hand

"Okay I will, but I'm worried about these carriages, what if the horses bolt off?" Buzz's little face was wrinkled with concern

Relay smiled "Don't worry, we'll be okay" she held out her hand and they stayed together as they rode through the adoring crowds, smiling and waving to the people who wanted to watch them die.

District 4

Bala couldn't take his eyes of Capelin, her dress was a hundred layers of grey, blue and green silk, it rippled as she moved as if she were dressed in the choppy waves of a stormy sea.

"What do you think?" She asked with a smile, he was dressed in a divers wetsuit made of a similar fabric to her dress so the wind made it look as if he were in the water.

"You look wond…I mean we both look great, we'll have loads of sponsors" Bala had to back track because it was getting out of hand. It was one thing for them to be allies and get the best head start they could, but he'd spent the day without her in the hands of his prep team and he'd actually missed her. That wouldn't do at all!

A couple of other tributes had tried to catch their eyes, obviously looking for allies, but they'd ignored them, the message would be put out today that District 4 were off the market as far as allies were concerned.

Capelin stroked the white horses and climbed onto the chariot. "Here we go! Big smiles" Her prep team called to her and Capelin waved to show she understood.

As the chariot moved through the crowds Capelin grabbed Bala's hand and raised it high in her own, she smiled at him and he felt goosebumps on his neck.

I think I'm hooked. Bala thought as he watched her wow the crowds.

District 5

"Erm…sweetie…could we just fix your make up a little?" One of the prep team nervously questioned Zara, the last one to just head towards her with a make up brush had received a nasty bite to the hand.

"Yeah sure" Zara closed her eyes as a glittery dust was applied all over her face. She felt ridiculous, they'd dressed them both in baggy, grey power plant uniforms and brushed the same glittery powder through their hair.

Zane stood nervously in the chariot waiting, he could see a few of the older tributes as they finished getting ready, including the girl from district one who seemed to be throwing a huge tantrum about her hair. "You okay Zara?" He asked as she took her position next to him.

"This is stupid, we all look stupid, why even dress us up if they're just gonna kill us?" Her shouts drew the attention of a few attendants who were poised ready to medicate any tribute who made a scene. Zane had heard a rumour that, in the past, wilder tributes had been drugged and kept in place on the chariot by shackles.

"Shhhh…come on, you promised you'd try to get them to like us"

Zara looked into his watery, grey eyes and smiled a little "Okay, I'll try"

When the chariot set off the roar of the crowd took Zara's breath away, she saw herself on the screens and couldn't believe it, as the final rays of the sun hit her hair and skin she glittered as if lit by the power plant itself. She couldn't help but smile at the crowds, no one had ever cheered for her before.

District 6

Deltic was trying hard not to laugh; they had dressed Goyle as a train attendant in a stiff blue suit with gold braid on the shoulders. He was so clearly uncomfortable but trying not to let it show that she could barely contain her glee. A tall man with green hair was fixing a loose thread on her dress, she was also dressed as a train attendant but her stylist had fitted her navy dress so that it emphasised her curves and moved with her as she walked.

Goyle was sweating buckets but the suit material wasn't very absorbent so he could feel the sweat drip down his back and his legs. He hated his stylist; the man was hugely fat and smelled of alcohol all the time. Boole had warned him about this and to stay cool, he would have plenty of opportunity to show off during training.

He saw Bear get into the wrong chariot and the girl tribute from his district guided him away. Goyle tried to wave at them, he was even prepared to smile at the one armed freak if it got the big guy on his side, but they didn't see him. He was angrier than ever when he took to the chariot and seeing Deltic smirk at his discomfort was too much for him, he grabbed her hand as they set off and squeezed it hard. She cried out in pain and tears sprung to her eyes, he threw the hand back at her and smiled as they came through the tunnel. Goyle smiled to himself, the crowd wouldn't notice his sweating if they were distracted by her crying.

District 7

"Not that way, this is our chariot" Fern guided Bear away from the District 9 chariot where the girl tribute looked terrified as he bounded up next to her.

Fern tried to take his arm but it was difficult in her costume. Her stylist had dressed her in a sweeping dress covered in autumn leaves, the sleeves fell to the floor and disguised her disability completely so, for that at least, Fern was grateful.

Bear stroked the auburn horses and whispered in their ears.

"I like the horses but I don't like the crowds"

Fern sighed "We talked about this remember? The crowd are going to be loud and calling our names but that's because they want us to win, you don't need to be scared."

Bear nodded and took a deep breath as their chariot set off through the tunnel. He didn't want to let Fern down, he'd promised to be brave for her.

He looked down at the horses and focused on them completely, trying to block out the crowd and thoughts of what was to come. Fern saw them both on the huge television screens, Bear's serious face looked almost menacing, he seemed to be ignoring the crowds out of contempt and they were going wild for it!

Her heart leapt, if she could hide his fear through training, there might be a sponsor or two in this for them both!

District 8

Bolt fidgeted with his tunic, it was from a canvas material which was common in District 8 but not very comfortable, he wished he had Mili's talents; she had modified her own outfit to fit and look better. They heard a yelp and saw that the huge boy from District 7 had tried to get into the carriage behind them; he was led away by the girl tribute who was talking to him quietly.

"I don't think he's all there that one" Bolt remarked

"He certainly seems very confused, but then this isn't a clear cut situation is it?" Mili answered

"At least we're in this together; I wouldn't like to be alone"

Mili smiled weakly back at him, they weren't in this together really, and eventually they would both be alone. She shook her head and tried to get rid of all horrible thoughts as the chariot set off, time to smile for the Capitol monsters.

District 9

"You okay?" Ace asked as Bear was led away from the chariot

"Yeah, he surprised me that's all" Palea spoke awkwardly; they hadn't spoken much since she had snapped at him on the train. She knew it was ridiculous to want to make up as any pretence at friendship could only be short term but she hadn't been raised to be cruel so she said "I'm sorry…for what I said about Brush…I'm sure there was a good reason she wasn't there."

Ace nodded "Thanks, we're going to be together you know, once I win…"

_Once you kill me_, Palea thought, _that's the only way you get to win._

She scratched at her dress; it was made of the sacking the field workers used to store grain, stiff and very itchy.

An attendant queued them up to set off "I'm sorry you have to be here" Ace suddenly said "you seem nice."

Palea was taken aback and wasn't sure how to respond, there wasn't time anyway as they had already reached the edge of the tunnel. She shielded her eyes from the sudden light as the crowds went wild.

District 10

Mika removed her hat and let her hair spill back onto her shoulders, she was nervous and far too hot. Her stylist had dressed her and Lowe alike in ranch clothing complete with wide brim hat, but it wasn't like the stuff they wore at home because it was full of sequins. Lowe joined her as she stroked down the pitch black horses and sneered "Wow, you smell clean for once Stinky"

Mika shook her head and strode off towards the chariot, she climbed on and waited for them to queue her up. Lowe headed towards the horses and, while Mika was distracted by the boy from 7 climbing into the carriage in front of them, he gave one a slap on the hide. The horse whinnied quietly and moved forwards, Mika lost her balance and fell into the dirt.

A prep team ran over quickly, fussing and primping at her hair and clothing, but Mika was more upset at the pain in her leg where she fell. "Damn you Lowe! This is hard enough; we're both from 10, why can't this be over?!"

Lowe's upper lip curled back as he spat the words at her "It's never over, I'm gonna be your worst nightmare, out here and in there"

An attendant gave them their cue and the prep team helped Mika into the chariot, she bit back tears and smiled, she even threw her hat to someone in the crowd.

District 11

Rosy and Eli had to help steady each other, their stylists had given them a rounded sweatshirt to wear, it was a soft green like an apple but it was stiff and caused their arms to stick out slightly, making them feel a little unbalanced.

They saw the commotion ahead and decided to try to make a go of it together. "What's his name?"

"Lowe, I think" Eli said

"He's spiteful, he'll be cruel just to be cruel" Rosy was terrified, when she'd watched the games before she had never imagined tributes from the same district becoming so competitive immediately, even before the games began.

"We'll have to stay away, remember; we'll just run at the start, find each other and run away"

Rosy nodded, she just hoped they could run fast enough.

District 12

"Gap!" One of the prep team, a man with a bald head which was covered with a bird tattoo, rushed to Ginny and dusted the offending piece of skin with black powder.  
Ginny felt terrible, they had dressed them both in coal minder garb but hers had been cut provocatively and they had covered the large amount of exposed skin with a replica coal dust "For your decency dear" they had explained.

Ginny didn't feel very decent, in fact she felt quite low. Baulk nodded curtly at her, he had been trying his best not to get to know her too well, it wouldn't make things any easier for the future, but when he saw the tears I her eyes he had to speak to her.

"You look fine, honestly, just don't lift your arms up too high and you'll stay covered up by the shirt"

She nodded, trembling as she climbed onto the chariot.

"Here" he said, handing her his coal miner helmet "Hold this over your chest as we drive out"

She took it gratefully, she could hold it with one hand and wave with the other, even if her shirt rode up, no one would see. The attended took hold of the horses' reins and led them to the tunnel.

"Here we go" Baulk said grimly.


	6. Chapter 6- Training

Training:

All tributes arrived at training at much the same time, they were greeted by attendants who pinned their numbers to their training clothes and then stood for an orientation speech by Zeesha, a strong looking man with olive skin.

"Tributes, you will all complete 3 days of training, over these days you will sample various activities including survival and combat. Please vary your training and don't forget the survival stations, make sure you can start a fire, find water and make shelter. If you look up there" He gestured to a viewing platform where a few people had begun to settle down to watch "You will see that the game makers are watching you, they will be judging you for your final training scores. Okay, off you go."

Andesine turned to Shimmer "Okay, let's stay together and aim for District 2, see what they can do" They headed to the target practice where Flint was throwing knives, "Good one" Shimmer commented as he hit the centre of a moving target for the 5th time in a row.

Flint gave her a curt nod and addressed Andesine "You looking to form a pack?"

"Yeah, we're together, we thought we'd ask 4 and the guy from 7 as well" Andesine gestured towards Capelin and Bala who were at an edible plants station.

Flint shook his head "Four aren't interested, my mentor told me this morning that they're just gonna be the two of them."

"Why would they do that? We're stronger together" Shimmer asked but Flint just shrugged

"Who knows, just more for us to kill when we…" they heard a commotion at the other end of the training centre, Lowe had been training with a spear and had turned around and thrown it directly at Mika, fortunately Zara had pushed her out of the way.

"I wonder what that was about" Andesine said quietly as the attendants pulled Lowe aside and laid down the rules for fighting other tributes. Lowe threw the spear down, stalked over to the station next to them and began chopping away at a target with an axe.

Andesine raised his eyebrows at Flint who just shrugged. "Hey! Lowe isn't it?"

Lowe smirked to himself as he turned round "Yeah"

"You got a problem with her?"

Lowe gave a shrug "I just don't like weaklings"

Shimmer asked "Did you train much?" she was intrigued, on the reaping day he looked more likely to wet himself than fight

"Not officially, but I'm strong and fast…"

"And looking for allies?" Flint finished "You're not that strong and I best there's a lot who are faster"

Lowe took in the sight of these 3 strong competitors, especially Flint who was picking his nails with a huge knife. He took a deep breath, this was what he'd wanted after all "I'd give a good show, I've slaughtered animals, I'm not scared of blood and more than anything I want to kill Mika"

"Okay" Andesine nodded "You're in, go and throw a few knives, lets see what you can do."

Mika stood paralysed with shock "Thank you" she stuttered to Zara

"Don't worry about it, the guy has a real problem with you"

"Yeah he…" Mika began to answer but an attendant signalled it was her turn to run the assault course, she had no problem vaulting the small wall or dodging the sticks which shot at her from each side, however, she got tangled when crawling under the net and felt the redness of embarrassment overcome her once more.

"I hate the way they just stare at us" Capelin said

Bala looked up at the viewing platform, the observers were sat attentively and one was looking directly at them "Try to ignore them, come on, we said survival skills today so where next?"

Capelin looked around; they'd stayed at the fire lighting station for over an hour and the edible plants instructor had been happy with their performance when he tested them. "We've got knots, camouflage and shelters left, let's head to shelters"

They spotted Bear and Fern trying to light fires, Fern's face was moist with sweat and her hair stood out in curls from the heat of determination, unfortunately her bad arm held her back at each station. "I'm sorry, you'll need to rely on Bear for fires, you'll struggle to light anything with one arm." The instructor's tone was kind and pitying which only served to make Fern feel worse. So far she had struggled with fires, shelters and knots, her strategy, to stick with Bear initially and then run and hide if anything happened to him, was looking less and less prudent.

A bell rang and the gamemakers began to leave the viewing platform. "Lunch will be served in the cafeteria downstairs" Zeesha called and pointed towards the lifts at the back of the room.

Baulk couldn't quite get used to going up and down in the lifts; he lingered until everyone else had headed downstairs and rode one alone. When he entered the lunch room he saw that most people had settled into groups or pairs, he spotted Ginny eating with the pair from District 11, she gave him a small smile as if to beckon him to join them but Baulk preferred to sit alone. He would be alone in the arena ultimately so why pretend now? Baulk surveyed the trays of food and helped himself to what looked like a tiny roasted chicken; when he bit into it he tasted a delicious spicy sauce, he grabbed 3 more of them and piled the rest of his plate high with creamy potatoes and shredded cabbage. He took a place at the end of an empty table and began to eat as he surveyed the room. Baulk became aware of a noise just on the edge of his hearing behind him and found Buzz crouched, hidden behind a pillar, nibbling on flatbreads which had been baked with seeds and spices.

"You okay?" Baulk asked

"Yes" Replied his shrill little voice "Relay felt sick and didn't want anything so she's back on the training floor and I didn't want to sit with any of the others."

Baulk nodded and started back to his table, he sighed knowing he was making a huge mistake "come and sit with me, I don't want to sit with the others either"

Buzz smiled and scampered over to him "thanks."

That afternoon they had to queue for another compulsory session, Relay was so nervous she had barely eaten a thing at lunch, the attendant they had to wrestle towered over her and had her pinned in a few seconds. She sat at the side for a while and watched the others as she got her breath back, Bear was an interesting one, he whispered quietly with Fern all the way upto the front of the queue but, once he was there he had the attendant on the floor almost immediately. Relay was relieved when she saw that other people were getting pinned quickly as well, Fern lasted a few brief seconds, as did Buzz, Zane, Rosy, Ginny and Deltic. Andesine, Ace, Goyle and Flint did predictably well, as did Capelin and Bala who seemed to have excellent strength in their arms- must be all that swimming! Relay thought. She had to laugh at Zara's session, it had to be called off as Zara bit and kicked the attendant, she also spat on the floor and waved her fists in a blaze of fury.

That evening, Deltic took a long bath in her room. She had never had a hot bath before and this one had a keypad where she could program the temperature as hot as she liked, Deltic wondered what it must be like to live like this all the time without any threat of death. She was feeling quite depressed as she hadn't found anything she was particularly good at, she couldn't even construct a decent shelter with branches, clothes or plastic sheets. "I'm going to die" she groaned as she slid under the water and tried to block out the world.

The next two days passed in a blur, Mili excelled in knife throwing, her intense concentration and steady hands meant that her aim was perfect and Rosy demonstrated her climbing and scaled the walls and the roof of the training centre, she was only asked to get down when the attendants noticed her getting close to the gamemaker's viewing platform.

Eli seemed to spend most of his time eating, even during training sessions, he was always sat around watching other people train and eating- Rosy tried to talk to him about it but he just told her to trust him and remember that he had something to show the gamemakers in the private sessions.

On day three, Shimmer was serving herself lamb chops with a herb crust and tiny new potatoes for lunch when Goyle swaggered over to her. "Hey, you ready for tomorrow?" he asked

She smiled "Whats it to you?"

"Well, you know, this attraction between us makes me hope you've got something good lined up, don't want to lose you too soon" Goyle turned on his biggest smile, the one which made the shop girls melt in District 6.

"Ha!" Shimmer's laugh made some of the others jump "I'm in the pack, where will you be?"

"I know where I belong, you and I are made for sponsors, it'd be stupid not to have me"

Shimmer paused for a while as she thought "…why don't you come and sit with us?"

"Lead the way" Goyle chuckled to himself, it was almost too easy, he could charm the audience and he wouldn't need any survival skills at all, the Capitol would send him everything he needed.

That afternoon, as they prepared for their private sessions, Palea and Deltic chatted at the knots station, they lamented over their lack of skills and agreed that they would be better off together. "I need help starting a fire" Deltic admitted "I keep trying but, without someone holding the stick I cant do it"

"Me either, plus I thought I knew so much about plants but there's just too much to learn, what if it's a jungle? Or a desert? I just don't know what I'm going to do" Palea despaired.

"Well, we have a better chance together, at least at the start." The girls nodded as Zeesha called them all together.

"Okay everyone, you can go to lunch but we'll be calling you out for your private sessions so stay focused"

Shimmer and Andesine stayed behind "You ready for this?" he asked

"No problem" Shimmer's tone never wavered "Lets show them what we can do"


	7. Chapter 7- Private Sessions and Scores

District 1

Andesine entered the gym, the quiet was eerie and the game makers were giving him their full attention. He quickly lined up three dummies and selected a spear, axe and sword. Andesine gave the game makers a nod and proceeded to hack away at two of the dummies using quick and flamboyant motions, he finished by heading to the other end of the floor and throwing a spear accurately through the final dummy's heart.

Shimmer gave the gamemakers a winning smile and began to cartwheel and flip flop around the room. When she reached the climbing frames which hung to the walls she leapt from one to another gracefully and walked along a single rope which was hung as a bridge without faltering once. Shimmer knew that her skill would never be with weapons and her body was not particularly strong so she hoped that her flexibility and balance would be enough to convince them she had some merits.

District 2

Flint scowled at the gamemakers as he loaded weights into a backpack, once he felt it was heavy enough he hefted it onto his back and began to run quickly around the gym. He stopped in front of the gamemaker platform to show them he wasn't out of breath or sweating from exertion. Flint drew knives from the weapons rack and began to throw them at various targets; he hit the centre of the first four and missed the last. Cursing, he stomped out of the gym.

Dacia flinched as Flint stormed past her, she knew her strategy for the gamemakers was risky and wasn't sure if it was even allowed but it was the only talent she knew she had. When she entered the gym she stood before the gamemaker platform and asked "I need an attendant please? For boxing"

The head gamemaker nodded at a nearby male attendant who rushed forwards to help, he offered her boxing gloves and she shook her head "Just hit me…please, we're running out of time so as hard as you can"

The attendant punched Dacia tentatively in the ribs; she stood strong against it and said "harder!" He punched again, this time knocking her double and then again when she was down "Again! Harder!" she cried out as she stood up. Next came a flurry of punches to her head, ribs and legs, Dacia dropped to the ground and grunted. She dragged herself to her feet and ignored the searing pain, looking squarely at the head gamemaker she croaked "Again, try to keep me down!" The three minutes passed in a blur but Dacia stood each time and looked coolly at the gamemakers with no expression of pain or fear. At the end of the session she simply said "Nothing keeps me down" and was dismissed.

District 3

Buzz got up from beside Baulk and headed back to the gym trembling.

"You may begin" A gamemaker told him, though some had begun a conversation elsewhere.

Buzz trembled as he tried, and failed, to start a fire and build a shelter. He had hoped he could demonstrate simple survival skills but the pressure was too much and he was dismissed having achieved nothing at all. He headed back to his room in tears.

Relay headed to the weapon rack and selected the taser stick, she knew her mentor had arranged for it to be there and she had promised to show what she could do. She quickly took the stick apart, right down to nuts and coils, and then put it back together again and tased a nearby dummy. After she was done she looked towards the gamemakers, was it worth a good score? They weren't giving anything away and dismissed her.

District 4

Bala selected a trident from the weapons rack, he used it to spear a dummy which was positioned on the other side of the gym, quickly he then moved to the knots station and wove a small net out of the rope there, it was a little rushed but he was confident it would show them that he could create traps for tributes or catch food.

Capelin had much the same idea as Bala and wove a quick net to show the gamemakers then, once they had seen that, she unpicked the knots quickly and grabbed a hook from the survival table before reforming them both into a fishing line. Next she unpicked the knots again then used canvas to create a shelter tied down with the rope. When her three minutes were up she was panting with exertion and her fingers were sore but she hoped she had shown them that she was here to survive.

District 5

Zane fidgeted in front of the gamemakers for at least a minute, he didn't really know what to do but he had promised Zara he would do something. In the end he lit a fire and built a passable animal snare.

Zara strode past Zane, touching his hand for reassurance as she passed, she asked for an attendant to wrestle with and saw the gamemakers chuckle. Zara smiled sweetly at them as the attendant walked over to her before balling her fists and flooring him within a minute, news of her biting had gotten around and the attendant was covering his ears and neck with his hands to avoid another incident. When it was time to be dismissed, Zara bared her teeth at the head gamemaker and mimed a bite before spinning on her heel and heading back to the cafeteria for more food.

District 6

Deltic was flustered, she had tried to create a shelter but the material bunched where she didn't want it to and persisted in flapping, even when she had tried to tie it down. In the end she had to admit defeat and was dismissed to her rooms.

Goyle swaggered into the gym and gave the gamemakers his best smile, he was disappointed to see that a few were missing or were no longer paying attention. He headed to the archery range and selected a bow but his arrows didn't hit any targets, nor did his knives and spears, in the end he grabbed some heavy weights and threw them around until it was time to go.

District 7

Fern sat with Bear as they waited to be called into the gym. "Repeat it back to me Bear, what will you do?"

"Not look at them" He intoned

"Brilliant and what will you do with the weapons in the gym?"

"Throw axes"

Fern patted him on the arm "It's only three minutes; wait out here for me after if you like?"

She was pleased to see him smile when he emerged three minutes later and gave his shoulder a squeeze as she entered the gym.

Fern hadn't been sure what to do in the session, in the end she decided that her only option was camouflage and she began covering herself in leaves, branches and stones. She remained perfectly still until she was dismissed. Outside the gym, Bear was waiting on the benches "Can we have dinner now?" he asked

"Yes, lets get some more" She smiled as he joined her in the lift and wondered if she should have taken him into the gym as her own special weapon.

District 8

Bolt looked around the gym and found as many small spaces as he could, he managed to contort and squeeze his body into all of them one by one. It was the only thing he could think of that he had had any sort of experience doing, and hiding was the only way he could imagine surviving the games.

Mili concentrated on her task and carried a set of knives along the rope bridge; she dismounted silently and threw them with astonishing accuracy at several moving targets. When she looked up at the gamemakers she saw that only one or two were now paying attention, it was irritating as she thought she had put on a decent display, she considered her options for a second and tipped over the weapons rack, the resulting crash caused all the gamemakers to rush, startled, to the viewing platform where Mili was ready to go through the motions of her routine again. She nodded at them and was dismissed.

District 9

Ace decided to wrestle as his skill for the private session but the attendant managed to pin him down, quickly he changed tack and headed for the swords, he stabbed and chopped at the dummies with as much flourish as he could muster in the hope that it made up for his sorry, earlier performance.

Palea desperately tried to start a fire but there was no hope, in the end she lined up some plants and separated them into piles which were either edible or non-edible, hoping she had gotten them right!

District 10

Lowe took one dummy from the side of the gym; he laid it on the floor and selected a few weapons. He began to stab knives into the dummy's arms, stomach and legs before pulling them out and slitting its throat. Lowe looked up at the head gamemaker, who was currently the only one paying attention, and smiled as he took two knives and stabbed them into the dummy's eyes.

Mika flinched as Lowe walked past her; he leaned down and hissed slowly into her ear. Trembling, she walked into the gym and aimed for the assault course. An attendant set the keypad for her and she took off, she climbed harder, ran faster and dodged with more agility than ever before as she imagined Lowe was there at every stage.

District 11

"What are you going to do?" Rosy despaired "You've barely trained!"

"Trust me, I'm going to show them something, I promise" Eli pleaded and told her what his plan was

Rosy smiled "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"You needed to be innocent; I don't know how well you can keep a secret"

The gamemakers were drinking heavily when Eli entered and he had to cough loudly for anyone to pay attention to him, slowly he began to empty his pockets onto the table in front of him. Eli produced a small wooden cog, a ribbon, a knife from the cafeteria and numerous other small objects which he had stolen over the last three days and no one had noticed. "I may not have much in the way of weapons skills" he announced as attendants rushed over nervously to collect back the property "but I'm a thief, I can steal food, tools, anything"

Rosy decided to climb as her skill, she scaled the walls with the ladders first then jumped from the top of each piece of apparatus until she reached the centre of the room. Rosy threw a rope upwards around a beam and hauled herself upwards until she was climbing along the beams of the ceiling. When she was dismissed she climbed towards the door and swung down gracefully.

District 12

Baulk had tried to see Buzz but the kid had been too upset after his session so Baulk just let him go back to his room to cry it out. He had been working hard the last three days and showed the gamemakers a fire and snare without much effort. He grabbed an axe and hacked away at a dummy but his heart wasn't really in it, he kept thinking of Buzz and wondered what on earth that poor kid could have done in this session, how would he even begin to survive this so young?

Ginny started her session by laying out poisonous and edible plants, and then she tied a few knots and wove the plants and leaves into the mesh she had created before finally hanging it around her shoulders as a camouflage. Red faced from the pressure she looked towards the gamemaker platform to see two of them asleep and the rest drunk. After all of that effort, she left feeling grim and despondent.

The Training Scores:

**District 1**

Andesine: 10

Shimmer: 7

**District 2**

Flint: 11

Dacia: 8

**District 3**

Buzz: 1

Relay: 5

**District 4**

Bala: 7

Capelin: 7

**District 5**

Zane: 4

Zara: 8

**District 6**

Goyle: 7

Deltic: 1

**District 7**

Bear: 12

Fern: 3

**District 8**

Bolt: 5

Mili: 9

**District 9**

Ace: 7

Palea: 1

**District 10**

Lowe: 10

Mika: 8

**District 11**

Eli: 8

Rosy: 8

**District 12**

Baulk: 9

Ginny: 6


	8. Chapter 8- The Interviews

District 1

Shimmer was stunning, she saw herself in the floor length mirror and took in the curves of her body as her satin gown flowed over them like liquid gold, there was a slit running all the way up her right thigh exposing a jewel tattoo which snaked down to her ankle. Her stylist had left her hair loose and slightly curled so that it trailed like flaxen heaven down to her hip.

Caesar Flickerman was getting ready to introduce her; he was a young, hot television presenter who had covered the last few games. His hair and suit were violet and he wore matching lipstick and shoes.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, one of the great beauties of our time…Shimmer, our female tribute from District One!" He called and welcomed her onto the stage with a kiss on each cheek.

Shimmer took her place on the stage and smiled….this was going to be easy.

Andesine's suit was tailored to highlight his broad shoulders and taught muscles; he strutted onto the stage and shook Caesar's hand, waving to the crowd with his other.

"So An..de…sine! What was going through your mind when you volunteered?"

Andesine smiled, he had prepared for this question, "I just knew it was what I wanted, to win, to make my family proud, my District proud and to make Pan Em proud"

The crowd clapped as Caesar wiped away a patriotic tear and proclaimed Andesine to be exactly the kind of young tribute that the Hunger Games were all about.

District 2

Dacia fidgeted nervously as she waited, she knew she couldn't portray the kind of confidence that District one had. Her dress was made of stone, actual stone, the grey pebbles were tiny and wrapped around her tightly, exposing one shoulder and flaring out at her hips in ripples to the floor. She didn't know how her stylist had done it, but they looked almost wet, as if she were wading through a river.

"…District Two tribute…Dacia!"

She took a deep breath, smiled and headed onto the stage to greet Caesar.

"Tell us" he leaned in and she became awash with the scent of his floral cologne "What do you miss most about District Two?"

Dacia suppressed a giggle, what part of the foster home DID she miss most? "I can honestly say Caesar; I don't miss District Two at all."

"Well folks we've turned her head, she'll be a Capitol lady all the way from now on eh?!" The crowd applauded as Caesar took little bows in his chair. "I take it that this means, when you win, you wont be going home?"

Dacia shook her head "No, I'm already home" She waved and smiled her way into their hearts.

Flint strutted out onto the stage and sat with a scowl in his stone coloured suit.

"Well, I think we all want to know how that 11 happened? Please do tell us" Caesar leaned in as if it were a secret between friends

"I can't tell you, all my victims will know." Flint knew he had a dangerous enough score to be able to grunt answers and just appear menacing and aloof.

Caesar raised his eyebrows and made a show of backing away as if he was frightened "Any clues of what we can expect of you?"

"You can expect me back here at the end for my crown" Flint glared into the crowd.

District 3

Relay's dress moved, her stylist said she had been inspired by Relay's little cog token and had created a dress which was made up of cogs that moved each other. The dress was strapless and pinched under her arms but she enjoyed standing watching it in the mirror, the motion was hypnotic and soothing because it reminded her of the workshop at home.

Caesar whistled when he saw her "That is some dress! Now tell us Relay, who did you volunteer for?"

Relay felt a pang, with all the activity she had barely had time to think of Di "She is my sister Di, we're twins"

"Well, it's a good thing she isn't here as well; I don't think we could handle two creatures so lovely! What was running through your mind when it happened?"

Relay looked from Caesar to the crowd and knew her sister would be watching this "I just knew I wanted to do this for her, and I hope she knows that, whatever happens, I would do it again."

Buzz emerged onto the stage dressed in a shirt and pants which were intricately stitched with little cog wheel patterns. He shook Caesar's hand and hopped onto the chair next to him.

"Well Buzz, what have you enjoyed most about the Capitol?"

Buzz thought hard "the food is really nice and my new friends Relay and Baulk are nice too"

Caesar leaned in "Does this mean we have a little clue of an alliance in the arena?"

Buzz paused "Yes"

District 4

Capelin was struggling to sit comfortably next to Caesar; her dress had a green strapless top and faded into a fishtail of scales leaving little room for breathing.

"So, have there been any surprises for you so far?"

Capelin shifted in her seat, thinking about how much she hated this and wanted to go home.

Bala watched Capelin chatter nervously, he wiped his sweaty palms along his bottle green suit trousers and helped her walk down the steps from the stage as she arrived back in the wings.

"Good luck" she whispered, squeezing his hand.

The lights were hot and almost blinding on the stage as Bala walked towards Caesar.

"For you then, Bala, what has been the best thing about this experience?"

Bala bit back his initial retort; even though he hated the Capitol he needed them to like him. "I think the best and worst thing has been meeting Capelin" he answered

"Really, and is that because it's nice to be with friends or is there a budding romance" Caesar leaned in to Bala as he spoke

Bala smiled "I don't know, I suppose you'll need to keep us around while we figure it out"

Off stage, Capelin approached Bala with concern "Was that true?"

He took her hand "Of course, meeting you has been wonderful, I don't want you here but I don't want to be away from you."

She smiled and kissed him.

District 5

Zara pulled at her dress, it was black and made from hundreds of twists of material, as if she were wearing the most lovely rags in the world. She stomped onto the stage with little grace and plonked herself in the chair.

As the crowd fell silent Caesar asked "I think the biggest question on all our minds is what your secret is? Where did that eight come from? Very unexpected from a tribute so young"

Zara gave a grim smile "I don't surrender easily" the crowd chuckled and went "ooooh" as she bared her teeth at them.

Zane couldn't sit still in the interview chair and picked at his clothes. "There's no need to be nervous Zane, it's only us" Caesar laughed as he patted him on the knee and gestured to the crowd.

"How does it feel to know you'll be in the arena with your sister?"

"I don't really know…erm…." Zane's mind was blank

"Are you pleased you'll have a chance to work together to protect each other"

"Erm…yeah…erm"

As the buzzer went Caesar smiled at Zane and told the crowds to give a round of applause for the boy of few words and, he was sure, many surprises.

District 6

Deltic's dress was themed on trains again and seemed to be made entirely out of gold braid which wrapped around her body and fell to the floor behind her legs forming a train.

"I think we all want to know about the reaping, you seemed much overcome with emotion as you kissed your friend."

Deltic smiled sadly as she thought of Cess and her promise that there would be no more apologies "She is the best person in my life and I love her"

"She's watching now, is there a message you would like to send her and anyone else at home?"

"Yes, don't apologise for who you are, I should have told the world I loved you every day." Deltic wiped away a tear before it streaked her make up.

Caesar held her hands and said "Words we can all live by for sure" before she waved and left the stage.

"So, Goyle, there must be a young lady waiting for you back in District 6?"

Goyle knew that he'd asked at least 4 young ladies to wait for him back in the District; they were nice shop girls whose parents owned businesses and could afford to sponsor their possible future son in law, especially one who would return home with riches as a victor.

He looked into the camera and said "There is someone special, I don't want to embarrass her by saying her name but I hope she remembers me while I'm in the arena and knows that I'll be home soon."

District 7

Fern was grateful when she Caesar hold out his right arm to her, she could grab it with her left without embarrassment.

"We have heard of a little alliance between you and your District partner is there any truth in that?" Fern nodded "Yes, Bear and I have teamed up together"

"And how did that come about?"

"Well, I'm clever and creative, don't count me out. Sometimes you need brains as well as brawn"

Caesar laughed "indeed that is true!"

Fern smiled, she hoped all the victors had heard and would know to leave her alone.

Bear sat silently as Caesar spoke to him. He toward over the presenter and nodded either yes or no to his questions but otherwise faced forwards and stared at the crowd. He had promised Fern that he wouldn't say too much so he decided to not say anything just in case it was the wrong thing.

When the buzzer went Caesar proclaimed Bear to be the strong silent type and shook his hand.

District 8

"Mili, my dear, are you alright? Don't be worried about speaking to us" Caesar sounded concerned as he tried to get Mili's attention for the crowd.

Mili looked up from his violet suit and said "You have a loose thread"

"Do I really?" Caesar looked down at his hem and tugged on the thread to show the crowd "How very embarrassing! I will go red and clash with my suit!"

Mili smiled and Caesar laughingly called for a pair of scissors to be brought on stage immediately. "Well, now I'm dressed, any clues on how you achieved that nine?"

Mili considered her answer "I suppose I don't panic, I just focus…"

"Well, all eyes will be focussed on you I think, good luck my dear!"

"Bolt, what have you enjoyed most about your time in the Capitol?" Caesar steeped his fingers as he look at Bolt who was trembling and sweating in front of the camera.

"I…I guess the foods good" Bolt stammered as he wringed his hands, the next thing he knew he was on the floor in the wings and an attendant was offering him some water.

"What happened?" He asked

Mili hovered over him "You passed out; you had to be taken off"

Bolt held his head in his hands, his one chance to connect with the audience and he'd missed it.

District 9

Palea smoothed down the silky pink fabric of her dress and smiled brightly at Caesar.

"My family are what I miss most" she answered "I love them so much and I miss them every day; I hope I can make them proud"

Caesar patted her knee "I'm sure you will my dear, I'm sure you will"

Caesar's fixed smile was beginning to fade as Ace continued to gush about his girl from back home. "Well, I think we all feel like we know Brush now, anything else you would like to say before our time is up?"

Ace thought hard and just said "I just hope she waits for me, once I get back to District 9 she'll have everything she's ever wanted."

District 10

Mika's dress was brushed leather, it felt too tight and hot but her stylist was adamant that she looked wonderful. She waited in the wings and saw the attendant cue her for the stage, as she tottered up the steps she felt a shove from behind. Mika's cheek hurt as she hit the ground and the crowd took a deep breath, she saw herself on the small screen, splayed out on the stage, and tried to stand up with a renewed grace. Caesar rushed to her side and helped her into the chair, he tried to be kind but she felt so despondent that she forgot all of her prepared answers, she knew that she had ruined her only chance to seem strong to sponsors.

Lowe waved and smiled to the crowd as he took his seat beside Caesar.

The interview began slowly but he soon had the audience laughing as he described the time Mika fell and landed in a feed tray, the cows had started to eat her hair as she tried to get out!

"Haha!" Caesar laughed "All joking aside, would you say you are close to your District partner?"

Lowe smiled and said "Well I suppose you'll have to watch and see, I think that you might be surprised. Let's just say that I'll give you all quite a show."

District 11

Rosy was dressed in hues of red which deepened the silken brown of her skin, she knew that she looked good and tried her best to smile for the crowd, hoping for sponsors.

"Would you say that you have learned anything from District 11 that might help you in the Games?"

She knew that she hadn't hidden her skill at climbing so answered "I climb well, I used to pick fruit from the top of the trees. The District can be so beautiful then, when you're up there it's just you and nature, it feels so peaceful."

The audience were hushed and Caesar spoke "I feel as if we could all be there with you, Rosy, I hope one day you're showing the cameras around your wonderful home on your victory tour."

"I hope so too" She replied quietly.

Eli shook Caesar's hand and slouched in the chair; his mentor had decided that his 'style' was cheeky, cocksure and a little sly. "An eight is a very respectable score, how did that happen?" Caesar smiled

"You already know how it happened Caesar" Eli laughed

Caesar made a face to the crowd and leaned in "Do I now?! Well, can you enlighten the crowd at all then?"

Eli opened his palm to reveal Caesar's gem encrusted watch "I think this will look better on you than me, why don't you have it back?"

There was a brief moment of silence and then Caesar tipped his head back and laughed, patting his suit pockets to check for his other valuables. "Well, we will all have to keep our eyes on you!"

District 12

"Is life in the Capitol how you expected?" Caesar asked Ginny

Ginny thought of the exotic food, the lavishness of everything and the way that Capitol citizens seemed to take for granted all they had. "Yes, it's exactly as I imagined" She realised how this must have sounded to potential sponsors and quickly added "Everyone has been so helpful and the food is wonderful" She smiled to the crowd and saw many of them smile back.

Baulk wiped a sweaty palm against his suit trousers, Buzz's claims that they were a team would not bode well for him, but how could he deny the boy now? Buzz had no one, but then his family had no one and needed him to go home.

"So, rumours are abounding! Is there an alliance?" Caesar asked the horrific question

Baulk thought about it "No, there's no alliance"


	9. Chapter 9- Arena and Bloodbath

District 1

Shimmer dressed quickly in the launch room, lightweight, waterproof pants and shirt with a jacket to match.

"You will be okay, look for Andesine and the others" she told herself quietly as she plaited her long, blonde hair.

District 2

"_Tributes, you have 60 seconds, please enter your launch tubes."_

Dacia looked up into the ceiling as the voice commanded her to enter the tube. She zipped up her coat and pushed her hair behind her ears. Trembling, she entered the tube and tried to breathe deeply as the pedestal pushed her upwards into the blinding light of day.

District 3

Buzz shielded his eyes and a cool wind rippled through the loose fabric of his jacket, he tried to zip it closed but his fingers were trembling too much. He heard a bang from the other side of the cornucopia but couldn't see what had caused it.

District 4

Bala sniffed the air, the trees smelled different to the scrubby ones which grew at home. As he looked around he saw that they were in a clearing of pine trees, the cornucopia was in the centre and they were all spread around. He looked left and right desperately, searching for Capelin. Bala spotted her, a few tributes over, stood on her pedestal.

District 5

Zane was cold, he was used to feeling cold but this wind was biting and his teeth began to chatter as he searched for Zara, he couldn't see her anywhere; she must be on the other side of the cornucopia. He tried to zip up his jacket and lost his balance, he fell from his podium but he never felt himself hit the ground.

District 6

Deltic screamed as the boy from 5 was blown to pieces, the countdown continued but her ears rang from the explosion, she was just glad she had managed to keep her balance when the force of it had hit her.

District 7

It smelled like home to Fern, the trees around her were thick and lush. She was named for them and knew them well; perhaps she would have an advantage from knowing the terrain?

**BOOM!**

The boy from 5 hit the floor and the explosion spattered her face with debris from the ground, one tribute gone and the games hadn't officially started!

District 8

Mili's face was speckled with dirt from when the boy beside her exploded, she barely noticed, her attention was focussed on the set of knives in the mouth of the cornucopia. Weapons seemed to be clustered and could only be claimed if tributes were brave or foolhardy enough to enter the cornucopia. Mili was listening to the countdown, ready to sprint.

District 9

Palea looked around, there were pine trees everywhere, the gaps between them were small and it looked as if it would be hard to run between them. She didn't even think to find her ally, instead she just found the easiest gap she could see and prepared to head towards it.

District 10

Lowe spotted Mika; she was stood 4 tributes over from him, nervously shifting her weight from foot to foot. He was confident, as part of the career pack, that he would survive the bloodbath, now to figure out how to make sure she didn't get away?

District 11

Eli spotted Rosy and raised his eyebrows at her, trying to see if he could catch her attention. She gave him little hand signals, pointing right, he nodded and knew they would both head for the same gap when the countdown finished.

District 12

Baulk surveyed the supplies scattered around the cornucopia, there was a backpack practically at his feet, he could scoop it up and run quickly, but what if there was nothing inside? Perhaps he should run for a backpack closer to the mouth of the cornucopia? His head pounded with a thousand thoughts.

_10…9….8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…Let the 53rd Hunger Games Begin! _

Andesine sprinted from his podium towards the cornucopia, he grabbed a sword from deep inside the mouth and quickly spun around to see Flint heading his way, he tossed him a sword and told him to take the right hand side.

Flint caught the sword and spun to see Ace heading towards a large, blue backpack, he quickly thrust the sword into his back, he didn't wait for the sound of cannon, he turned again and surveyed the struggling crowd.

Zara couldn't see Zane anywhere, she hoped he had run into the trees and would find her later. She grabbed a lone knife from the ground nearby and ran into the bloodbath for a small black backpack. Footsteps behind her caused her to spin around and she saw Ginny stumbling around, crying and desperate. Zara quickly hooked her arm through the straps of the backpack and headed for the trees, hoping to see Zane.

Ginny felt sick, she had seen that poor boy decimated in the explosion and now she couldn't seem to walk in a straight line, she stumbled left and right hoping that she was nearing the tree line when Goyle seemed to appear in front of her, he held his knife aloft and struck with ferocity. Ginny's world went black as a pain exploded in her side.

Bear grabbed Fern by her good arm and swept Flint away as if he were no more than an errant fly, Fern pulled away and scooped up a green backpack as she tugged him away from the bloodbath "Here!" she shouted as she ran towards the treeline. She didn't dare turn around; instead she listened for the sounds of him crashing through bracken behind her.

Deltic stood frozen on her podium, she could see those around her being hacked to pieces but some unknown force stopped her from moving on any further. She bent down to vomit heavily on the patch of grass next to her when she felt a jolt in her back and collapsed to the ground. Shimmer pulled out the knife and searched until she saw her next target, Bolt, running away from the cornucopia. Shimmer aimed well but he was too fast and reached the treeline before she could hit him, she turned her attentions back to the bloodbath.

Eli sprinted quickly, he had promised Rosy that they would remain on the treeline of the cornucopia, wherever that may be, and he would use his abilities to steal food from the careers. He saw Rosy head into the gap in the trees but couldn't seem to get any further; Eli looked down to see a large gash in his leg. When he looked up he saw Andesine towering over him, sword raised, and closed his eyes as the final blow was aimed at his head.

Baulk punched Lowe in the face as he headed towards the cornucopia; he was gratified to see that this seemed to have knocked Lowe unconscious! He reached the mouth of the huge structure and grabbed a large, green rucksack which had a set of knives strapped onto the back of the bag. As he sprinted to the treeline he spotted Buzz, who had flattened himself into the grass and was slowly crawling away from the bloodbath. Flint was heading towards Buzz with his sword raised high, Baulk cursed loudly and grabbed a knife which was hooked onto his pack, he aimed poorly and hit Flint in the thigh. It was enough for Flint to be distracted and drop his weapon, forgetting Buzz was even there. Baulk swept Buzz upwards "Run with me!" He shouted as he headed for the trees.

The clearing became calm and the careers gathered together as the cannon fired 5 times.


	10. Chapter 10- Day One

**Day One**

**Careers**

The careers gathered the food around the cornucopia and piled it up inside the mouth.

"Okay, we can eat then we need to start hunting" Andesine told the group

Flint was sat with his back to them as he used a needle and thread from one of the packs to stitch up his thigh, he grunted with effort as he passed the needle through his skin but never called out in pain. "I'm good to go, just give me a minute to bandage this" he told the group.

Shimmer flicked her hair to the side "You could stay here and guard the supplies? Someone's bound to be hanging around the tree line waiting for us to leave.

Flint looked at Shimmer with pure contempt "You stay behind then"

Lowe and Goyle searched through the supplies and packed bags for them all, there were plenty of weapons, water containers and food so they made sure to take enough so the hunt could last a few hours at least.

Flint stood, his bad leg had a slight tremor but adrenaline surged through him and he felt good. "We ready?" He asked

Shimmer shrugged "Let's go before they get too far, we've already given them well over an hour"

"There'll be plenty who can't run that fast; we'll give a good show today"

**Relay and Mika**

Relay watched the careers leave the cornucopia from the treeline, she knew it was a risky strategy to stay so close but she'd gotten out of there so fast that she had taken nothing with her. Besides, the careers had done a poor job of piling up the supplies, in their haste to get hunting they'd left quite a bit scattered around. Soon she heard distant shouts that suggested they had found a target to hunt so she scampered out of her hiding place and headed for one of the weapons in the cornucopia's mouth.

A noise made her freeze and flatten herself against the side of the cornucopia, she spotted Mika who must have had the same idea. Relay chewed on her lip for a second before stepping out and revealing herself.

Mika raised her knife defensively "Don't come any closer!"

"Relax, I'm looking for an ally" Relay held up her hands to show she had no weapons

Mika lowered her knife and nodded "Have you had a look around yet?"

"No, I was waiting for them to leave"

"Me too, lets grab what we can and get out of here" The girls filled bags with food, bottled water and some knives. They grabbed a spear each and headed for the treeline, looking around furtively for the careers.

They walked in silence as they searched for a hiding place until they came to a particularly close crop of low hanging trees; the girls bent down and crawled beneath them, Mika spread out the plastic sheet she had taken from the cornucopia and Relay used a large knife to cut away a few low hanging branches so they had room to sit.

"What's that?" Mika asked as Relay emptied cogs, screws and metal sticks onto the sheet.

"Wait and see" Relay said with a smile "This is partly why I wanted to stay near the cornucopia, I wondered if they'd put one of these in here for me"

It took almost an hour, Relay had to keep stopping so they could listen to some noise or other from outside their little hideout, but eventually she rebuilt the taser stick.

"Can you kill people with those?" Mika asked

"I doubt it, the voltage is too low, it'll hurt though and I bet we could use it to hunt if we had to. We don't have any way to recharge it so it's for emergencies only, but at least its one thing the careers don't have."

Mika speared a passing rabbit through the branches of the trees which hid them; they decided to cook it and travelled a little way from their hideout to do so. Relay stood guard with the taser and a spear as Mika built a fire. The girls ate as they walked, looking for water, Relay had wanted to stay in the hideout and use the supplies from the cornucopia but Mika knew that their water wouldn't last long and the careers might not leave their supplies unattended again. They found a small stream and drank their fill before filling two large containers and heading back to their hideout to rest.

**Palea**

"Come on I can hear her!"

Palea could hear the careers calling to each other as she ran, she had decided to hide out at the treeline and wait for the career pack to leave, but she had second guessed her plan and moved position just as the pack was headed her way.

She looked around desperately as she ran but the thick cover of the trees was starting to thin out and she could see a field of tall grass ahead.  
Her eyes brimmed with tears and she couldn't see clearly any longer, she slammed into a tree and felt a crunch as blood filled her nose.

Palea pushed herself up off the ground and almost leapt through the forest treeline into the grass, she crawled sideways as best she could, trying to stem the flow of blood with her coat sleeve.

"Did you hear that?" Shimmer's voice was too close, Palea held her breath.

"She can't be far, I saw blood back there, she's wounded" Andesine was cutting through the shoulder high grass, poking and swiping with his sword. Palea saw a flash as the blade came close to her leg but didn't dare move away.

"Hey! There's blood here as well!" Goyle called to the others, she knew he must be heading towards her, following the trail her broken nose had left for them, Palea decided to make a run for it and took a deep breath before jumping up and running as quickly as she could through the grass.

"Got her!" Goyle called, he threw his spear but his aim was terrible and it whistled past Palea's ear, she turned her head to see him running behind her but when she turned back Andesine appeared out of nowhere and knocked her to the ground. He stabbed his sword into her chest; Palea's world went cold before the blackness descended.

The cannon boomed overhead as the career pack whooped over their victory.

**Bala and Capelin**

"We can stop for a while if you like?" Bala said

Capelin's head felt dizzy, she knew she should have had more to eat that morning but she'd felt too sick at the thought of the day ahead. "No I'm okay, let's keep going until we find water"

Bala had grabbed a nearby backpack before they ran from the cornucopia; it contained some strips of dried meat, a small medical kit, a coil of wire, a very small knife and a sleeping bag. All were useful items but they had been running or walking for over three hours and were thirsty.

So far they were still picking their way through the thick, pine forest. It seemed almost relentless, Capelin was wondering if they should have gone in a different direction instead, her head pounded and her legs shook, giving way. Bala caught her as she fell and propped her up against a tree, he remembered something from survival training and used the little knife to peel away the old bark of a pine tree and handed her a piece of young green bark. "Here, it might help if you can chew on something"

Capelin nodded, and took it from him. She looked up to see an overly large blackbird with a golden beak staring down at her, another joined in on the branch, and another, and another. Soon there were birds all around them. "Bala…mutts" she whispered

"I know, just stand up slowly" He handed her the knife and picked up a large stick from the ground.

Adrenaline began to surge through Capelin's body and she forgot her thirst, they stood back to back and tried to side step together, away from the flock. A call made Capelin look down and she saw that the birds had them cut off; they needed to head back towards the cornucopia.

Bala stepped on a stick which broke loudly and all at once the birds seemed to be upon them, flapping, shrieking and clawing at their face and bodies. Capelin flailed wildly with her knife, shouting as they ripped her hair and arms, Bala hit out with his stick until he realised there were too many, their only choice was to run and hope the mutts stayed in a certain area of the arena. He pulled his hood over his head, grabbed Capelin's hand and dragged her away, yelling at her to keep her head down.

The barrage felt endless but it did end eventually, they had no clue where they were once the mutts flew away, somewhere within the pine forest but they couldn't tell if they were near the cornucopia or not.

"Capelin, look at me" Bala held her face in his hands, her skin had been raked by the birds and, as her head lolled forwards, he could see she was missing chunks of hair. He looked at the backpack but the birds had ripped the bottom and the meat and medical kit were gone.

Bala put the coil and sleeping bag into the undamaged part of the bag before hoisting it onto his back, steadying Capelin with his arm and trudging forwards into the unknown.

As he felt ready to drop with exhaustion and dehydration, Bala felt a cool, wet breeze and saw that they had made it to the treeline, where a huge lake was waiting for them. His steps had renewed energy and he tried to rouse Capelin "Come on, wake up we've nearly made it"

Capelin's eyes remained closed "No, come on, come on!" Bala called to her desperately. He dropped his bag and pulled Capelin to the water's edge; he soaked the cleanest hem of his shirt in water and wet her mouth and tongue. The moisture roused her and she opened her eyes, he guided her hands to the water so she could drink and drank deeply himself.

Time passed in silence as they quenched their thirst, they washed away the blood and surveyed their injuries. Their clothes had been torn by the birds but they were still basically intact and the wounds to their heads, faces and arms were quite superficial. Bala washed Capelin's head and used a few pieces of strong grass to tie her hair back so that the raw, bald patches were less exposed.

"Thank you" she held him close "You saved my life"

"I don't think they were supposed to kill us, I think they were herding us this way, we must be near other tributes now."

Capelin winced as she nodded. They looked around but couldn't see other tributes, the lake was huge, it was surrounded by a pebble beach and had an island in the middle, and on the far side of the lake they could see a meadow of tall grass. "What should we do?" she asked

Bala thought for a minute "We could swim to the island; I doubt anyone else here knows how to swim so that limits the number of tributes who follow us and at least here we have water."

"Okay, let's go before we're seen"

Capelin struggled to swim, the pain in her head was searing, but they made it to the island and collapsed, camouflaged in the trees.

**Rosy**

Rosy heard the boom of the cannon and froze, another one was dead, how many did that make now? She couldn't count, she had to concentrate, once she had reached the treeline near the cornucopia she had turned to look back and saw Eli's body on the ground. Rosy had panicked at first; she had hoped that she would make it through the first few days by relying on Eli's skills as a thief, now she felt completely alone. Rosy's instinct had been to run for a while until she found the lake, she didn't know if this was the only source of water so she decided to stay nearby and find a sturdy tree in which to rest.

Rosy climbed ever higher until she could stretch out and see the vastness of the arena above the trees, it seemed to be the same dark forest for miles, except for a bright open meadow and an island in the lake. She saw two figures burst through the trees and quickly ducked down, she risked another look and saw them swimming towards the island, on the far side of the lake she spotted the career pack leaving the meadow and walking down to the water. It was starting to get cold, the heat of midday was disappearing and she needed to find somewhere to rest. Rosy had no weapons, just a container on a strap which she had filled with water and slung around her shoulder. Her stomach rumbled and she tried not to think about food, Rosy had filled herself with a hearty breakfast that morning and that would have to suffice, she'd gone hungry before, it was nothing new.

She leapt from tree to tree, pausing occasionally to listen to the careers that were too busy drinking to notice her. Rosy stopped when she spotted a hollow in the trunk of a tree below her. She pulled some of the old bark away from the opening and squeezed her slim frame inside, it wasn't very comfortable but she could hug her knees and use her coat to shield her from the wind. Rosy drank deeply from her container and surveyed the forest around her.

**Zara **

Zara was furious; she had waited on the treeline for Zane and saw his body just before it was airlifted away from the arena. Tears stung her eyes; she could see from his corpse that he had been the one who had exploded, the one who never even got a chance to fight. Well, she would fight twice as hard for them both. Zara climbed a nearby tree and waited, she saw the careers pass beneath her and saw the stupid girl from District 9 burst out of her hiding place and run.

Zara waited until they were out of sight and dropped down from her hiding place, she saw Mika and Relay at the cornucopia but decided not to reveal herself, her only alliance had been to her brother, everyone else was fair game.

Once they had cleared out, Zara walked calmly into the mouth of the cornucopia, she found water, food and a smaller, lightweight sword. She hid behind the large rucksacks stacked inside the cornucopia and waited, eating and drinking her fill as she did so. Let them come, she thought, let any of them come and she would kill them all.

**Careers**

"We should stay here" Goyle said "There isn't much water back there and we can see anyone who uses the lake."  
Andesine nodded "True, but while we're here, the other tributes will use the supplies back at the cornucopia"

"I'll go back" Flint said "It's not far and I need another bandage" He wouldn't admit it to the pack but his leg wound ached in a way he couldn't describe, the skin was hot but he felt so cold.

"Shimmer, go with him, get food and bring it back here." Andesine told her

Shimmer gave him a withering look "Sure"

"Screw that" Flint snapped "I don't need help; I'll bring stuff back, pass me my sword."

He grunted as he walked through the meadow, he could hear movement but didn't investigate; right now he just wanted to get to the medical supplies and redress his wound.

Flint had his sword drawn as he approached the cornucopia; he circled it carefully and watched the treeline. Once he was sure it was safe he headed to the mouth and looked for the large red rucksack which he knew held an extensive first aid kit, his hands shook and he was sweating, he needed medicine.

Zara burst from her hiding place in the back of the cornucopia and thrust her sword upwards; Flint was caught off guard but quickly gathered himself and parried her attack. He was dizzy and the sudden burst of energy wasn't carrying him through, he had double vision and Zara seemed to be everywhere, stabbing and kicking at the air around him. Red mist descended and he became a whirling scream of metal, Zara struggled to get anywhere close and took several cuts to her arms. Flint swayed and began to feel exhausted; Zara took her opportunity and thrust two low blows into his stomach. Flint dropped his sword and fell to the ground, screaming in agony, Zara could hear the sounds of oncoming tributes; the career pack must have heard the fight and headed back to them. She quickly grabbed the rucksack she had prepared for a quick exit and headed for the treeline.

Andesine ran out of the trees as the cannon signalled Flint's demise. "Spread out!" he called "Find them!"

The group spread out amongst the treeline and searched but found nothing, an hour later they all returned to the cornucopia and agreed that, whoever it was, was gone.

The rain began, it was a torrential downpour which soaked them all through, they filled the largest rucksacks with food and carried them, along with three tents, down to the lake.

Zara smiled as she jumped down from her tree and removed the camouflage material she had found in her rucksack. She took shelter inside the cornucopia and decided to get some rest; the careers wouldn't be back tonight. Tomorrow, she'd hunt down another one.

**Baulk and Buzz**

Buzz jumped as the cannon boomed again "Another one" he whispered

"Don't panic, just keep up" Baulk told him, he still regretted his decision to bring Buzz along with him, his family were depending on him to come home but he couldn't just leave the boy to die. Buzz was too young, he wouldn't make it through this, but at least he didn't have to die at the hands of that sicko Flint.

They had found a small stream and followed it until it became a river; Baulk had stopped for a short while and speared a few silvery fish, now they were looking for somewhere safe to eat out of the rain.

"What about the caves there?" Buzz asked pointing ahead

The caves weren't much more than small indents into the rocks beside the river but at least they would be dry. "Can you climb?" Baulk asked

Buzz nodded but his attempts were poor, Baulk had to push him up into the rock before climbing up behind him. They wringed out their clothes and each took a fish, Buzz grimaced as he bit into the oily, cold flesh and Baulk chuckled "I think you've gotten too used to Capitol food"

Buzz smiled "Thank you, for saving me. I'm sorry I shouldn't have told Caesar we were allies"

"Forget it" Baulk shook his head, it was too late now, he'd made his decision and Buzz was his responsibility. They looked through the bag that Baulk had ventured into the bloodbath to retrieve. It was a good haul; there was dried fruit and meat, a large sleeping bag, blanket, spare clothes, two water containers, first aid kit, waxed matches, fishing line and an array of hooks as well as the knives which were strapped to the bag itself.

"Wow, I think you grabbed the best one"

Baulk nodded in agreement "Yeah, we're looking good. I think we can get some rest now, it'll be dark soon"

He spread out the sleeping bag on the cave floor and they covered themselves with the blanket. Buzz wore the extra jacket and put the extra socks on his hands as gloves, he tucked himself against Baulk as they slept.

**Dacia**

The rain was pouring now, Dacia had made it to the lake but had to run again once she saw the career pack were there. The forest was too dark, too menacing so Dacia had decided to stay in the grasses, she had been drenched through at first but then she came to a kind of grass hedge at the edge of the meadow. It was thick and impassable but the grass which grew around it was also quite thick and could be bent and plaited into a serviceable shelter, it even kept the rain out quite well. As she sat under the bough of the grass she heard a thud beside her, this was followed by several more, they didn't sound like footfalls so Dacia peered out and saw that they were large nuts falling from the trees. She gathered a few and took them back to her shelter, they had a hard shell and required smashing with a rock before they would open however, once she had managed to get them open, they were delicious. She ate her fill and sat back, the arena darkening now and soon the images of the fallen would appear in the sky.

**Bolt and Mili**

Thud! The squirrel dropped from the tree and Bolt scurried over to collect it, he retrieved Mili's knife as she aimed for another one.

"You're amazing at this Mili" He told her as they sat and skinned their dinner, she didn't answer, she was too engrossed in her task. He shook his head and carried on.

"Can we risk a fire do you think?" He asked when they were done

Mili nodded "Its only dusk, we just need to be quick" She took the fire stones out of her backpack, her sprint in the bloodbath had been well worth the effort, the pack had been completely empty except for these but at least they could light a fire with ease.

They sat on the forest floor and ate, the darkness was coming quickly and the seal would soon appear in the sky. "I wonder how many are left?" Bolt said but Mili only shrugged

"You know, you're very difficult to talk to?" Bolt was becoming exasperated

"I suppose I only like to speak if there is anything important to say…" Mili trailed away for a moment as she listened to a sound in the distance "…besides, we should be quiet in case other tributes are nearby. We need to put the fire out now; it'll be too noticeable soon."

They trudged away from the camp fire and found a copse of trees with low hanging branches; they covered themselves with branches and stuffed pine needles into their coats to keep them warm as the air got colder, then they huddled together and waited for the seal.

**Fern and Bear**

Fern leant back against the tree; Bear had begun to breathe deeply, signalling that he was already falling asleep. He jolted awake when the seal appeared in the sky and music cued the start of the nightly report of the fallen.

"Flint from 2, that's unusual he's a career, the boy from 5, girl from 6, both from 9! Eli from 11 and Ginny from 12. Wow, seven gone on the first day" Fern shook her head sadly.

Bear's breathing slowed again and he began to sleep. Fern couldn't blame him, they had run from the bloodbath easily enough but Bear's stamina couldn't keep going for too long and he complained about their lack of food and water. They had found the lake but quickly exited when they saw the career pack on their way down from the meadow and were now in the forest sheltering under a plastic canopy from Fern's backpack.

They were hungry, there had been no weapons in the pack and all attempts to forage for food had been unsuccessful. Her pack had only contained the plastic sheet and a blanket which they were attempting to share, no food and no water, they had drank their fill at the lake it had been hours ago and they had no way of carrying water with them so they were thirsty again.

A noise made Fern pick her head up, a parachute was heading their way. She opened the container and found four rolls of the plaited bread they had at home! "Bear, Bear!" she poked his side, waking him.

Bear ate his rolls hungrily, Fern had thought they should save some, or even wait and eat it tomorrow when they were really desperate but in the end she had relented and eaten it all as well. They had waved a thank you into the air; no doubt it was seen by some camera or other, and settled down to rest, Fern took first watch and stayed awake as long as she could. She could hear rain but the sky over them was clear and she wondered how vast the arena was if they could all experience different weather? Eventually she woke Bear "I need to go to sleep; you must stay awake and watch for other tributes, okay?"

He nodded and sat watching the forest with one hand on Fern's shoulder as she slept; it made him feel better in the darkness as it reminded him he wasn't alone.


End file.
